St. PAUL, Minn., May 27 (UPI) -- Women's health advocates say they want to expand the availability of morning-after pills to convenience stores as new state abortion laws sow confusion about their legality and pharmacies are closing nationwide.
Emergency contraception deserts are arising in many areas of the United States where morning-after pills, although still legal everywhere, have become almost impossible to find due to a combination of misconceptions about their function and the ongoing drug store closures, healthcare experts told UPI.
Some suggest that wider availability of morning-after pills for women at convenience stores and other non-traditional outlets, such as gas stations, grocery stores, corner delis, travel retailers and hotels, could ease the problem.
Levonorgestrel, also known as "Plan B," or the morning-after pill, is a first-line oral emergency contraceptive pill approved from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization to prevent pregnancy. It is to be used within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse or when a presumed contraceptive failure has occurred.
It has an average cost about $40 to $50, with generics generally costing less at about $11 to $45.
