Experts have launched a brand new morning after pill, designed to be taken up to 5 days after sexual intercourse. It has been given the go ahead in Scotland, and will be readily available for prescription on the NHS.
ellaOne is one of 7 treatments to have been given the all clear by the Scottish Medicines Consortium this week.
With the launch of any new drug, comes criticism and the jury has been out as to whether the pill should be readily available through the NHS. A number of anti abortion campaigners have expressed as much. Josephine Quintavalle from the Pro-Life-Alliance claims: "If this pill works for five days, there is no argument. This is not a contraceptive; it is an abortive agent."
However, Professor Anna Glasier of Edinburgh University believes that the availability of ellaOne is a positive move as the pill could well prove to be extremely useful for thousands of women.
The scientists behind the breakthrough have also responded to critics, highlighting that the pill works by delaying the release of an egg for fertilisation as opposed to simply aborting an embryo.
ellaOne
The treatment itself consists of one tablet, to be taken orally as soon as possible after sex. Experts have warned that it should not be taken any later than 120 hours (5 days) after sex. The good news is that the pill can be taken with ease, either with or without food and at any time during the menstrual cycle.
Experts also claim that it has been shown to prevent up to two thirds of unwanted pregnancies provided the pill was used within the time frames of conventional morning after pills (72 hours). This said, the pill has also been proven to prevent 50% of unwanted pregnancies if taken up to 5 days after sexual intercourse.
Professor Anna Glasier of NHS Lothian in Edinburgh claims that the morning after pill is most effective in women when they are at their most fertile – just as the egg is released.
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