ike having a surgical abortion. The ECP should no longer be confused with the RU-486 pill. The ECP prevents conception instead of inducing a miscarriage (Rosenthal 2). The ECP is taken before fertilization has taken place, while the RU-486 pill is killing the child because it has already matured into a fetus. (Stewart 9). Many people think taking this pill is just like killing their child, as if they were taking the RU-486 pill or getting a surgical abortion. This is an incorrect assumption on their part. The ECP is taken within 72 hours of having unprotected sex, before the egg has been fertilized. This proves that the ECP is not interfering with reproduction (Stewart 9).Since the ECP is not an abortion pill, then how does it work? There are ten brands of emergency contraception pills, Ovral, Lo/Ovral, Levien, Nordette, Levora, Alesse, Tri-Levien, Triphasil, Trivora, and Ovrette. These brands contain different combinations of Norgestrel, Ethinyl Estradiol, and Levonorgestrel (Stewart 7). The emergency contraception pill is much like birth control pills that many women take on an everyday basis, but just contain a higher dosage of hormones then regular birth control pills (McKeown 1). The pills should be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to ensure effectiveness. Treatment is divided into two doses. The first dose is taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. The second dose is taken within 12 hours of the first dose (Rosenthal 1). The pills should be taken with food and a anti-nausea pill such as Dramamine to reduce nausea . The doctor or health care provider will include an extra set of pills in case the patient vomits after taking a dose of the medication. If vomiting occurs within 2 hours of treatment, then the extra dose of pills should be taken. If vomiting occurs the patient should call the health care provider just to double check with them on what they should do (Stewart 7). The main side ...
