About Our Directory of Emergency Contraception Providers
Any medical doctor and many other types of health care providers can prescribe emergency contraception, but not everyone who is qualified actually does so.
There are different age restrictions for the different emergency contraceptive pills available in the United States, so it can be a bit confusing. If you are 17 years old and need emergency contraception, be sure to call the pharmacy first because you may or may not be able to buy EC without a prescription.
- Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are approved for sale without prescription to women and men 17 and older. Women aged 16 and younger need a prescription.
- Plan B (the original version, which contains 2 pills instead of one) is still carried in some pharmacies but will be phased out soon. To buy this pill without prescription, you must be aged 18 or older.
For women who are too young to get emergency contraception over-the-counter, or for women who simply want to talk to a medical provider, we designed this directory to help you locate the closest provider in the United States who offers emergency contraceptive pills. It’s important to get the "morning after pill" as soon as possible if you had sex without using contraception, your birth control failed, or you were forced to have sex – and you do not want to become pregnant. Be sure to tell the person who answers the phone that you need emergency contraception immediately. (Click here for more tips for calling).
If you are under 18, and you already see someone for regular check ups or other health issues,
it’s probably best to start with them – preferably before
you need emergency contraception. But we know that’s not
always possible: You might not have a regular health care provider,
you may be concerned you can’t get in to see them soon enough,
you may feel they would not be sympathetic to your situation, or you
might just prefer to see someone else. If you live in a state that
allows pharmacists to prescribe emergency contraceptive pills directly to women of any age,
the fastest way to get them may be to contact a pharmacy listed in
our directory – especially if you need emergency
contraception at night or on a weekend or holiday when your regular
health care provider might not be available.
In this directory, you will find health care providers in private
practice, family planning clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and other
types of health care settings who offer information about and prescriptions
for emergency contraception. Everyone listed has said they are willing
and able to prescribe emergency contraceptive pills. However, we can
make no claims about the quality or cost of their services offered,
so we encourage you to exercise caution when choosing a provider of
emergency contraception – just as you would with any other decision
about your medical care. It’s also possible that a provider
listed in our database may be out of the office or has moved away.
If the person you ask for is not available, please ask to be referred
to someone else who can help you. (Click
here for more calling tips). And let us know so that we can update
our database.
We have made every effort to gather accurate information for this
directory, but some names and phone numbers may have changed. If you
find an error, please email ec3@opr.princeton.edu
so that we can correct it.
If a pharmacist refuses to fill your prescription for emergency contraception, the New York Civil Liberties Union Reproductive
Rights Project would like to know about it. Please download and fill
out this form and mail or fax to the address on the form
.
If you are a clinician with authority to prescribe
medication, or represent a pharmacy that dispenses emergency contraception and you would like to be added to this directory, please click here.