Rome: Difference between revisions

In Italy, you can purchase two emergency contraceptives (morning after pills) without a prescription. LNG EC (Escapelle) and UPA EC (like ellaOne) are available behind the counter from pharmacies for women who are 18 years of age or older. If you want LNG EC, you must get it from a physician (not a pharmacist). If you want UPA EC, you must go to a pharmacy and specifically ask the pharmacy clerk for it, since it's not on the shelves. Also, if you're under 18 years old, you'll still need a prescription to purchase them. However, for all other EC brands, you do need a prescription.<ref>[http://www.ec-ec.org/emergency-contraception-in-europe/country-by-country-information-2/italy/#pub1 European Consortium for Emergency Contraception - Italy]</ref>  

This is a major improvement over past Italian laws, when all EC required a prescription. This caused much distress for women in the past, and you can read a personal account a foreign student's difficulties trying to access EC in the past [http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/i-was-refused-emergency-contraception-in-italy here]. Fortunately, since April 2015, UPA EC has been available over-the-counter, and since October 2015, LNG EC has been available over-the-counter.