The FDA has approved a new, more effective morning-after pill called ella. The pill, already being used in Europe, can prevent pregnancies for up to five days after intercourse. It’s available only by prescription, unlike the Plan B pill, which is sold over the counter and is effective for three days after the fact. –JCL

The New York Times:

Federal drug regulators on Friday approved a new form of emergency contraceptive pill that prevents pregnancies if taken as many as five days after unprotected intercourse.

The pill, called ella, will be available by prescription only. Developed in government laboratories, it is more effective than Plan B, the morning-after pill now available over the counter to women 17 and older.

That pill gradually loses efficacy and can be taken at most three days after sex. Ella, by contrast, works just as well on the fifth day as the first after sex.

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