Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About...
Types of Emergency Contraception
What brands of emergency contraception are available in the United States?
There are currently four brands of emergency contraceptive pills that may be available in the United States: ella, Plan B One-Step, Next Choice and Levonorgestrel Tablets. You can also use many kinds of daily birth control pills to prevent pregnancy after sex.
ella contains ulipristal acetate, and is sold by prescription only. Plan B One-Step, Next Choice and Levonorgestrel Tablets contain the hormone progestin, and are available over the counter for women and men aged 17 or older.
Your other options for emergency
contraception include taking a different dose of your daily birth
control pills (most of which contain both progestin
and estrogen, so they are called “combined” pills)
or having a health care provider insert an IUD
within five days after your birth control failed, you had sex without
using contraception, or you were forced to have sex.
ella is more effective than progestin-only pills (like Plan B One-Step, or Next Choice), particularly on the 4th and 5th days after sex (when the effectiveness of progestin-only pills declines). Both ella and progestin-only pills are more effective and have fewer side effects than combined emergency contraceptive pills.
There are different regulations on how to purchase the different emergency contraceptive pills available in the United States, so it can be a bit confusing. If you want to use ella, call the pharmacy first to be sure that it is in stock.
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Plan B One-Step, Next Choice and Levonorgestrel Tablets 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 is being phased out.
- ella is sold by prescription only, regardless of age. You can also order ella through an online prescription service for $40, including shipping.
In some states, women of all ages can get progestin-only emergency contraceptive pills directly from a pharmacist, without having to get a prescription first. These agreements may not apply to ella, so call first to find out. Use our database to find health care providers, including pharmacists, near you who offer emergency contraception.