The recommended methods of EC that are in common use include the copper-bearing intrauterine device (Cu-IUD) and the oral drugs levonorgestrel (LNG) and ulipristal acetate (UPA). This review presents the available methods of EC, effectiveness of EC, impact on abortion rates, and strategies that might increase the population impact of EC.
Oral EC is so safe and well tolerated that it should not require a prescription.
Oral EC is only effective if ovulation has not yet occurred.
The copper-bearing IUD is much more effective than oral EC, as it can prevent both fertilisation and implantation.
In women with obesity, UPA is a more effective oral EC than LNG.
It is important to commence effective regular contraception after EC.
Hormonal contraception can be started immediately after LNG or five days after UPA.[-]

Despite the legalization of abortion in 2002 has made extensive efforts to expand services throughout the country, access to safe abortion care remains a constraint in Nepal, particularly in remote areas where trained providers and equipment are scarce. Expanding access to medical abortion (MA) through pharmacy workers could be a promising avenue to reach such women with safe and convenient care, but neither Nepali law nor the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends pharmacy provision of MA citing the reason of insufficient evidence. This paper examines the pharmacy provision of MA in expanding women's access to safe MA service in Nepal.[-]

Looking beyond the abortion rights movement, the crux of the issue is whether the state should continue to control abortion, with power over individual decisions delegated to the medical profession - or whether, as has been happening at a snail's pace for the last half century, and as with contraception and emergency contraception too - control can and should be more and more in women's hands.
This paper examines these perspectives and attempts to describe what a consensus might look like. It concludes that convincing governments and conservative health professionals to accept a large dose of self-management will not be easy.[-]

Self-managed abortion, when a person performs their own abor- tion without clinical supervision, is a model of abortion care used across a range of settings.
Included studies reported on methods, procurement, characteristics of those who self-managed, effectiveness, safety, reasons for self-managed abortion, and emotional and physical experiences. Numerous abortion methods were reported, most frequently abortion with pills and herbs. Studies reporting on self- managed medication abortion reported high-levels of effectiveness. We identify gaps in the research, and make recommendations to address those gaps.[-]

Abortion care is a fundamental part of women's reproductive health care. Surgical and medical abortion methods are safe and effective throughout the gestational age range wherein abortions are performed. Although risks increase with the gestational age of the pregnancy being terminated, rates of complications remain low and comparable between surgical and medical techniques. A high-quality abortion service should offer women a choice be- tween abortion methods and provide the one they prefer.[-]