Study Shows Many North Carolina Pharmacies Do Not Carry Emergency Contraception for Sexual Assault Victims
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 18, 2007 NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina supports improving health care for rape survivors Raleigh, NC – Forty percent of pharmacies in North Carolina do not carry emergency contraception (EC), according to a new study by NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina. Among pharmacies that did not currently stock EC, over 30% refused to order it. Bills introduced this session in both the NC House and the Senate would ensure sexual assault survivors are at least offered emergency contraception in hospital emergency departments. “Availability of emergency contraception is critical to reducing unintended pregnancy,” said Melissa Reed, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina. “That is why victims of sexual assault, particularly in rural areas where there is less access, need to be provided EC in hospital emergency departments.” In North Carolina, one in five women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Each year, approximately 25,000 women in the United States become pregnant as a result of rape. Many of these pregnancies could be prevented if sexual assault victims had timely access to EC. Emergency contraception is a concentrated dose of ordinary birth-control pills that can dramatically reduce a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant if taken soon after sex. EC does not cause abortion; rather it is a safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy and was recently approved for over-the-counter sales for adults. “I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there about this medication, but it’s simply birth control,” said Frank Burton, a pharmacist in Greensboro. Contact: Amy Woodell, (919) 829-9779 ###
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