[MMA News Now, September 1] The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 13, 2010, approved a new emergency contraceptive pill called ella. The drug can prevent pregnancy if taken up to five days after having unprotected intercourse. Furthermore, ella is as effective when taken five days after sex as it is when taken one day after sex.

According to clinical trials, women who take ella within five days of having had unprotected sex cut their chances of becoming pregnant from one-in-twenty to one-in-fifty. Women who take the Plan B contraceptive reduce their risk of pregnancy only to one-in forty, making ella the most effective form of emergency contraception on the market. Unlike Plan B, which is available over the counter to any woman 17 and older, ella will only be available via prescription. Ella is expected to be available in the United States by the end of the year.

Ella was unanimously recommended for approval by the FDA’s advisory committee. Common side effects of ella are headache, nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, dizziness, and painful menstrual cramps. For more information about emergency contraceptives, including ella, click here. 

MMA Stance
The MMA supports as policy that physicians and other health care professionals be encouraged to play a more active role in providing education about emergency contraception, including access and informed consent issues, by discussing it with men and women as part of contraceptive counseling; and that it is the policy of the Minnesota Medical Association to promote access to emergency contraception, including making emergency contraception pills more readily available.