You would think we'd know better by now.

        Almost half of the 3 million unintended pregnancies in the United States each year are from unprotected sex. The rest are a result of failed contraceptive efforts, according to Princeton University's Office of Population Research.

        Either way, a woman has up to 72 hours from unprotected intercourse to take remedial measures to avoid pregnancy.

        So-called “emergency contraception” is perfectly legal, relatively safe and very effective.

        It involves a combination of pills, under a doctor's direction, that halt or delay ovulation long enough to prevent pregnancy. If ovulation has occurred, the pills work by preventing the fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus.

        These “morning-after” pills are misnamed; the sooner after sex they're taken, the better they work.

        But most women don't know about them. Anti-abortion-rights forces want to keep it that way. Pro-abortion-rights lobbies don't.

        Pro-choice lawmakers in Washington recently introduced a bill that would give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention up to $10 million over the next five years to spend on a media campaign targeted at women and their doctors. Lobbyists also are pushing for relaxed prescription drug rules, so the pills can be sold next to condoms.

        Both proposals should pass so women of childbearing age can be better educated about, and have better access to, this alternative.

        A national study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation shows that only 11 percent of American women have heard of the drugs and only 1 percent have used them.

        Part of that is marketing. Only two brands are available: Plan B (Planned Parenthood's brand) and Preven, made by a small pharmaceutical company with an equally small marketing budget.

        Many pharmacies don't stock them.

        The pills don't contain abortive chemicals. They contain the same hormones found in birth control pills. In fact, many traditional birth control brands, if taken at higher, doctor-prescribed dosages, do the same thing as Plan B and Preven.

        (For more information: Office of Population Research has a Web site: www.NOT2LATE.com)
       

Ask your doctor

        Yet most women won't hear this from their doctors unless they specifically ask.

        The Kaiser study found that all 566 obstetrician/gynecologists polled in a scientific survey think emergency contraceptives are safe and effective. But only 10 percent routinely discuss them with patients, and only 24 percent have prescribed them more than five times in a year.

        If more women knew about and had access to the drug, fewer might seek abortions or the so-called abortion pill, RU-486. Emergency contraceptives, unlike RU-486, cannot terminate a pregnancy.

        But many among the anti-abortion-rights forces aren't compromising. They say emergency contraception is really emergency abortion.

        Dr. J.C. Willke, a Cincinnati physician, says that because a woman's egg can be fertilized as early as 15 minutes after intercourse, any measure taken after that is murder.

        Well, a lot does happen after then.

        It takes 24 hours for fertilized egg cells to even begin dividing. And it can take five to seven days for the egg to implant and begin separating cells, so some become placenta and others become baby.

        Even physicians don't agree on when it's a blastocyst or a baby.

        While they're debating, another woman is becoming an unwilling mother.

       Denise Smith Amos can be reached at 768-8395. Fax 768-8340 or e-mail damos@enquirer.com
       

In search of remedies for rollovers
Scam victims find they're on their own
Sponsorless, Jazz Fest may be history
Bristol's dancers have day in court
Hidden war was just below
Ohio lawmakers question tax
City asked for $15.4M to assist home plan
Firefighters get firmed up
Local lawyer defends land-use handbook
Roach referendum illegal, Evendale told
St. Bernard OKs plan for park
Tristate A.M. Report
BRONSON: Court battle
HOWARD: Some Good News
SMITH AMOS: Prevention
WELLS: Truth in begging
Designation sought for 1862 house
Economic director is familiar face
Lower speeds sought for Ohio 4
School finalists to take questions
Troupe spreads the good word
Unity is crucial, Warren planners told
Vets' group leads museum fund drive
Woman pleads guilty
GOP fires early shots at Lucas
I-275 exit gets a new number
Kentucky News Briefs
Schools stay a priority in state budget
Senate panel studies power plant bill
Six accused of skirting gun permit law
Teen pen pals hear war tales