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Article: Counseling about and use of emergency contraception in the United States.
- Article from:
- Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Article date:
- June 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Blackwell Publishers Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Among industrialized countries, the United States has the highest rate of unintended pregnancy. (1) Unintended pregnancy is especially common among women who are younger than 25, have less than a high school education or are low-income. (2) Emergency contraception, a safe and effective method of preventing pregnancy after an episode of unprotected sex or contraceptive failure, (3) is an important component of a comprehensive approach to preventing unintended pregnancies. A 1992 model projected that if emergency contraception were used after all contraceptive failures, 50% of unintended pregnancies and 60-70% of abortions would be prevented. (4) Although this projection has ...