In the United States, one of every four college women reports having been forced to have sex at least once. As long as contraceptives fail, or men rape women, or people are so ambivalent about sex that they need to feel swept away, we will need emergency contraception. The nausea and vomiting associated with the use of combined emergency contraceptive pills would deter their routine use. Emergency contraception can serve as a bridge to establishing effective ongoing use of contraceptives. Emergency insertion of an IUD can provide a woman with up to 10 years of continuous effective contraceptive protection thereafter.
Couples use condoms both to avoid pregnancy and to prevent the spread of disease.
For individuals at risk of sexually transmitted diseases, condom use remains critical . Women and men may, on the other hand, feel much more confident about relying on a condom for birth control if emergency contraception is available as a backup, in case a condom slips or breaks. Mifepristone is approved for use in early abortions in France, Sweden, Great Britain and China. It may prove to be effective for a wide range of other medical uses, including emergency contraception. However, its use for emergency contraception is still being studied.