FIGO statement on emergency contraception

Emergency contraception remains an essential component of comprehensive contraceptive care and reproductive autonomy. Despite being safe, highly effective, and associated with almost no absolute medical contraindications or age limits, emergency contraception is often underutilized due to systemic barriers, limited access, persistent misconceptions, and inconsistent clinical guidance, provider knowledge gaps, or stigma. This FIGO Committee statement provides an evidence-based overview of the current landscape of emergency contraception, including available methods such as the copper-bearing intrauterine device, levonorgestrel, and ulipristal acetate pills and combined oral contraceptives as well as their mechanisms of action, safety, repeated use, and key implementation challenges. The statement also presents practical recommendations to improve equitable access and uptake, including integrating emergency contraception into routine family planning, sexual violence, and sexually transmitted infection care as well as promoting advance provision, strengthening provider education, and supporting advocacy and policy efforts to reduce barriers to access. FIGO calls upon governments, donors, and health professionals to uphold every individual's right to timely access to emergency contraception, affirming this is not only a clinical issue but a matter of reproductive justice.