About 11 percent of Latinas between the ages of 15 and 44 have used the morning-after pill after sex, according to the first government report to focus on emergency contraception since its approval 15 years ago.

The results come from a survey of females ages 15 to 44 released Thursday by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, 11 percent of the women surveyed (the same percent as in the Latinas subgroup) reported using the contraception pill after sex at least once.

This number is up from 4 percent in 2002, only a few years after the pill went on the market and adults still needed a prescription.

The increased popularity is attributed to wider access to the pill and to media coverage of the efforts to lift the age limit for over-the-counter sales. A prescription is still required for those younger than 17.

In the study, 59 percent of Latinas who used the pills said they did because they'd had unprotected sex. Most of the rest cited a broken condom or worries that the birth control method they used had failed.

While Latinos are using emergency contraception, it is white and more educated women who use it the most, the research showed. That's not surprising, said James Trussell, a Princeton University researcher who's studied the subject.


One Pennsylvania college even has a vending machine dispensing the pills.

The morning-after pill is basically a high-dose version of birth control pills. It prevents ovulation and needs to be taken within a few days after sex. However the morning-after pill is different from the so-called abortion pill, which is designed to terminate a pregnancy.






Based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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