The so-called “morning after” pill can be used by women in most of the world as a form of emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy; but so far not legally in Costa Rica.

For the third time the topic is under consideration by government medical authorities, reported the pharmaco-epidemiology committee of the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS).

The pill can be used by women for up to five days after any mishaps or unwanted unprotected sex to aid in preventing fertilization, said the medical committee. This includes instances of a condom slipping off or rupturing, or in the worst case scenario, a rape.

“We are going to re-evaluate the issue. It will be done using a strictly scientific approach, not a social one. We will review the effectiveness of the pill, how it is used, and whether or not we have other similar methods, in order to justify why we are going to buy it, and know what is the cost,” explained María Eugenia Villalta, CCSS medical manager, in a press statement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers this contraception method to be “a right of all girls and women at risk of having an unwanted pregnancy” and instructs all national health plans to offer the pill.

According to Villalta, the morning after pill was not considered necessary as part of the state health system because other methods of contraception were already available.

Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) (sometimes referred to as emergency hormonal contraception (EHC)) often contain higher doses of the same hormones (estrogens, progestins, or both) found in regular combined oral contraceptive pills. When taken after unprotected sexual intercourse or contraceptive failure, such higher doses may prevent pregnancy from occurring, according to information on Wikipedia.

 

Also referred to as the morning-after pill—the drugs are intended to disrupt or delay ovulation or fertilization, which are necessary for pregnancy. The pill is considered a contraceptive because it works by preventing or delaying ovulation and therefore preventing pregnancy, and acts before fertilization occurs, said Wikipedia.