The truth about the morning after

From the August 5 issue of The Week magazine:

If morning after pills are made available over the counter, will women become more likely to have unprotected sex? A new study says no. The pills can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours. In the U.S., critics are fighting their introduction as over-the-counter drugs, claiming their widespread availability will encourage irresponsible sexual behavior. Researchers at the Imperial College London examined what happened in Britain when morning-after pills were sold over the counter, and found no changes in sexual behavior or contraception use in women 16 to 49. The findings were based on an annual government survey that questions 7,600 people each year about birth control, among other subjects. About 8 percent of the women surveyed reported having used morning-after pills as emergency contraception.