Abstract
The morning-after pill has been promoted as a solution to the growing teenage sexual health problem being witnessed in Scotland. The continuing increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), recorded in recent reports of the Scottish Centre for Infections and Environmental Health2, has come as a shock to members of the health profession across Scotland. Documenting a marked increase in teenage sexual activity, the report raises urgent questions about the impact of the “safe sex” message in our classrooms and the Scottish Executive’s overall approach to teenage sexual health. One specific feature of this approach that has prompted concern from General Practitioners (GPs), parents and educators (and others) has been the official policy on the promotion of the morning-after pill as a method of contraception. When appropriately initiated within 72 hours of unprotected coitus, emergency contraception will prevent approximately 80% of pregnancies in teens and young women who are mid-cycle and, thus, at risk of pregnancy.3 But this policy has not been based on a clear and rigorous understanding of the properties, the function and the efficacy of the morning-after pill. Neither has there been adequate and in-depth research on the short and long-term safety implications of the morning-after pill. In light of proposals to increase the availability of the morning-after pill, the overall aim of this Briefing Paper is: 1. to provide specific answers to the questions raised above, based on research evidence; and 2. to provide an independent source of information on the most recent research on the morning-after pill and STIs, for parents, teachers, politicians, members of the health and legal professions and other interested parties