Department of Health & Human Services

Public Health Service

Memorandum

Date: April 23, 1997

From: Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs

Subject: OPA Program Instruction Series, OPA 97-2:
Emergency Contraception

To: Regional Health Administrators
Regions I-X

On February 25, 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued
a notice in the Federal Register announcing that certain regimens of
combined oral contraceptives are safe and effective for postcoital
emergency contraception when initiated within 72 hours after
unprotected intercourse. This action is based on the FDA's review
of the published literature concerning postcoital use of currently
available oral contraceptives, knowledge of the safety of oral
contraceptives as currently labeled, and on the unanimous conclusion
of the FDA Advisory Committee on Reproductive Health Drugs, which
met on June 28, 1996, to consider the safety and efficacy of this
contraceptive option.

According to Section 1001(a) of the Title X statute and Section
59.5(a)(1) of the Title X regulations, family planning projects must
offer a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods.
In considering the range of methods that will be offered in a special
family planning project, Title X grantees should consider the
availability of emergency contraception the same as any other method
which has been established as safe and effective.

As with all other prescriptive contraceptive methods, emergency
contraception must be prescribed in accordance with medically
accepted protocol, and in accordance with a sliding fee scale that
is based on the actual cost of providing the service. Resources
attached may be helpful in developing protocols for providing
emergency contraception.

/s/
Thomas Kring

Attachments (3)

(1) ACOG Practice Patterns on Emergency Oral Contraception,
Number 2, October 1996.

(2) Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 37, Tuesday, February 25, 1997,
"Prescription Drug Products; Certain Combined Oral Contraceptives
for Use as Postcoital Emergency Contraception."

(3) Gynetics Announcement of Intent to Market "Yuzpe Method" of
Emergency Contraception in 1998.