The intent of this bill is to make emergency contraception more readily available for women when they have had unprotected sex.

The Food and Drug Administration has only approved over-the-counter emergency contraception for women age eighteen and older, but this bill would allow non-prescription sales of orally ingested emergency contraceptives to those less than eighteen years of age. The bill also makes provision for insurance coverage of non-prescription emergency contraceptives, if prescription contraceptives are currently covered.

Emergency contraception (sometimes called EC, Plan B or the "morning after" pill) is an oral contraceptive designed to be taken up to five days after unprotected sexual intercourse. It is considered most effective if taken within the first 72 hours after intercourse. There is vigorous debate as to whether or not these contraceptives can cause an abortion. Many in the pro-life community feel that this form of contraception may induce abortions by creating conditions in a woman’s body that does not permit a fertilized egg to implant in the mother’s womb. Pro-lifers reason that if life begins at conception, but the mother takes a synthetic hormone that prohibits the fertilized egg’s ability to implant, then she is indeed inducing an abortion by ending the life of her less than five-day-old baby. Many reproductive rights advocates insist that EC cannot cause an abortion because they do not believe that pregnancy begins with fertilization, but only with the implantation of the fertilized egg (zygote). They reason that if the zygote has not yet implanted, then there is no pregnancy and hence an abortion is not possible.

The driving forces for this legislation are:

This legislation has a companion bill in the New York State Senate. S1410 is being carried by Senator Schneiderman (D – New York City). The Senate version awaits action in the Senate Higher Education Committee. The New York State Assembly Health Committee passed A627 by a vote of 21 to 4, and it awaits action in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.