Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage

Emergency contraception helps prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse or after the failure of a regular method of birth control.  Some forms may be effective up to 5 days after unprotected sex, although effectiveness decreases the longer you wait.

Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are effective up to three days (72 hours) after unprotected sex. Both are available with or without a prescription at any Planned Parenthood. It can be purchased by both males and females. 

  • Prescriptions are available by making an appointment to speak with a provider. Call 1-800-230-PLAN for an appointment. Walk-in appointments are available at most Planned Parenthood health centers. Please arrive earlier than one hour before closing.

ella, a newly FDA approved emergency contraception is effective up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex.

  • You do need a prescription to receive ella. Prescriptions are available by making an appointment to speak with a provider. Call 1-800-230-PLAN for an appointment. Walk-in appointments are available at most Planned Parenthood health centers. Please arrive earlier than one hour before closing.

Paragard IUD can be used as emergency contraception if inserted by a health care provider within five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. It is 99.9 percent effective, even on day five, and can be left in as ongoing birth control for as long as you want, up to 12 years. This makes it the most effective type of emergency contraception out there. While IUDs can be more expensive upfront (ranging from $500 to $900), they are more economical because they can be left in as extremely effective birth control for years. Insurance may cover some or all of this cost. Talk with your health care provider if you're interested in getting an IUD and to find out how to use your insurance at Planned Parenthood.

  • Prescriptions are available by making an appointment to speak with a provider. Call 1-800-230-PLAN for an appointment. Walk-in appointments are available at most Planned Parenthood health centers. Please arrive earlier than one hour before closing.

More information on Emergency Contraception.

Your Body Mass Index may change how effective various methods of Emergency Contraception are for you. Read this explanation for more information and ask your doctor if weight should be considered when you decide on an EC method.

We and our third partners use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

We, and our third-party partners, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of required cookies when utilizing our site; this includes necessary cookies that help our site to function (such as remembering your cookie preference settings). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

User Feedback and Session Replay

On

We use qualitative data from LogRocket, UserZoom, Hotjar and AB Tasty to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services. LogRocket allows us to view session replays.