How to Access Emergency Contraception and Birth Control for Free
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 blog Share
A new campaign called Freedom to Decide is hoping to help the millions of people living in contraceptive deserts in the United States by offering access to free morning-after pills.
People of low socio-economic status often have to make impossible choices about whether to take time off of work and get to their healthcare appointment to access birth control or emergency contraception. This joint effort between Power to Decide and Favor aims to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to contraceptive choices.
Favor already provides support and services to alleviate pressure from transportation barriers and other challenges by providing birth control prescriptions via telemedicine and delivering the medication right to patients’ doors. Favor has now committed to providing 5,000 people in need with free emergency contraception, and they’re matching up to $10,000 in donations to a fund that gives low income patients reimbursement for travel, child care, and other expenses related to getting birth control.
Favor also says that they hope the Freedom to Decide campaign will aid in clarifying misconceptions about emergency contraception. While many people incorrectly believe that emergency contraception is the same as the “abortion pill,” they are in fact two completely different medications. Emergency contraception prevents pregnancy by delaying ovulation, and medical abortion with pills terminates an existing pregnancy of up to 10 weeks.
If you would like to receive free emergency contraception through the Freedom to Decide campaign, fill out an application on Favor's website. Since emergency contraception must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, the company recommends ordering it ahead of time and storing it for future use.
Women Help Women believes that all people should have access to medically and scientifically accurate information surrounding all aspects of abortion and reproductive health and believes women should have agency over their own reproductive choices. Our organization provides accurate information about what exactly a medical abortion with pills is, the pills’ effectiveness, how to use the pills, and what to expect after using abortion pills. If you are pregnant and do not want to be, get in touch with us online at abortionpillinfo.org or by email at info@womenhelp.org.