No Plan B: Teen Girls Don’t Know About Emergency Contraception

Some sex-ed teachers don’t seem to be doing their jobs very well, especially when it comes to teaching young women about emergency contraception. According to a small study of 30 English-speaking black girls between 15 and 19 years old, 94 percent of those who are sexually active said they had at least heard of the morning-after pill, but 40 percent of them were unable to answer follow-up questions about how the pills work. Among the girls who were not sexually active—14 in total—50 percent had never heard of the morning-after pill. Only four of the girls who had heard of it know when to use it and how to obtain it, and just seven girls had heard of the non-prescription, brand-name emergency contraceptive Plan B. [Reuters]