Morning-After Pill: Teen Use Spikes


Morning-after pill purchase has seen a spike from teens, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. More than one in every five teen girls who are sexually active are buying the prescription-free pill now that it is so easy to purchase, the cited statistics indicate.

Teen morning-after pill purchases have risen steadily for the past decade, the CDC report states. Teen girls birth control use by means other than the emergency, after-the-fact contraceptive remains largely unchanged. The CDC study included interviews with about 2,000 teens ages 15 to 19 from 2011 to 2013.

Nearly all of the teenage girls who took part in the CDC survey stated they had used condoms at some point, and approximately half of the respondents noted that they had prescriptions for birth control bills. The morning-after pill typically costs between $35 to $50.

The report showed little recent change in most other types of birth control used by teen girls who have had sex. Almost all said they said they’ve used condoms at some point, and more than half have used the pill.

“The fact that more teen girls bought the morning-after pill after it became more accessible is a sign that “teens, like adults, often are not very good at contraception,” National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Chief Program Officer Bill Albert said. “In the battle between sex and sex with contraception, sex often wins.”

The morning-after pill reportedly contains a “higher dose” of progestin, a female hormone, than is present in prescription birth control pills. The higher dosage of the hormone will reportedly decrease the chances of pregnancy if the pill is taken within 72 hours after the teen or woman has engaged in unprotected sex.

Beginning in 2006, teenagers 18 and older were permitted to buy the morning-after pill without a prescription and over the counter at pharmacies. Age limits on the purchase of the pill were reportedly lifted entirely two years ago.

The CDC report also claims that fewer teenagers are having sex and babies. Teen birth rates have reportedly dropped since 1991. The Centers for Disease Control claim sex education classes in school played a role in the drop in sexual activity among teenagers. Fear of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases was also noted among the reasons fewer teens are having (or admitting to having) sex.

What do you think about the spike in teen use of the morning-after pill?

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