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A NEW European "morning after" pill that works for five days exposes the difficulties faced by Australian women in accessing emergency contraception, a women's health expert says.

The original article can be found at: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/a-working-week-for-new-postsex-pill-20100626-zats.html

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The 'Australian women' on whose behalf this story is loudly defending would be a lot better served had it been more explicit with information. Ulipristal was licensed in Europe in May 2009. It has just been recommended for licensing by the FDA in the US. It can be used for emergency contraception for up to 5 days after unprotected intercourse. It is only available on prescription. It cannot simply be bought over-the-counter like levonorgesterol (effective for up to 3 days) the alternative available in Australia. The data on effectiveness are scant, a fact highlighted by the authors of the Lancet paper who also emphasised that their study was designed to show non-inferiority (not superiority) of ulipristal compared to levonorgesterol. There is also only little data about safety.

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