Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa is the only family planning clinic in the United States to participate in an international research project for upgrading emergency contraceptive pills (ECP).

The ECP method prevents pregnancy after sexual intercourse in extreme circumstances such as rape and unprotected sex, according to Dr. Charlotte Ellertson, lead researcher of the project.

Ellertson is a member of the Population Council, the international health research institution sponsoring the study. She said Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa, which includes 16 sites throughout Iowa, has joined forces with agencies in Scotland and England to improve the pills.

Ellertson said Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa was chosen for the project because of its reputation and success in previous research studies.

“We wanted to keep the number of sites small, and we picked Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa because of the excellent care they give women and because of their experience with research projects,” she said.

Ellertson said one purpose of the international study is to simplify ECPs by extending the grace period between an unprotected sexual encounter and preventing possible pregnancy. She said the current ECP method is inefficient because it is not easily accessible to women.

She said women must take the pills within 72 hours, but that the new method would be effective up to five days after unprotected sex.

“We’re hoping that will give women a little more time to get to a clinic if they are traveling a long distance or if a contraceptive accident occurred over the weekend,” Ellertson said.

She said the refined ECPs also would cut back on the pills’ side effects, including nausea and vomiting, by making doses smaller.

Ellertson said ECPs, which are a modified version of birth control pills, have been used for more 25 years and are widely available in Europe. She said in the United States, ECPs are the “best kept secrets in family planning clinics.”

“In the United States, unlike in Europe, there are no specially marketed products, and therefore, there’s no advertising so people don’t find out about it,” she said.

But Ellertson said Gynetics Inc., a New Jersey pharmaceutical company, has announced it will be the first U.S. company to market a brand of ECPs. Gynetics plans to launch the marketing campaign later this year, she said.

According to information provided by Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa, Gynetics’ product, which was FDA-approved in February 1997, could result in 1.7 million fewer unplanned pregnancies and 800,000 fewer abortions each year.

Ellertson added that anti-abortion activists support the use of ECPs.

“Even people who are opposed to abortion like this method because it prevents pregnancy, therefore it prevents need for abortion,” she said.

She said the overall need for ECPs in the United States is at least 5 million courses of treatment per year. She also said the pills are widely used on college campuses.

“College students are a great population for using this method because they tend to want to stay in school and postpone childbearing,” she said. “Many are sexually active, and they’ll need this method if they have contraceptive accidents.”

Becca Loftus-Granberg, regional director for Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa and a study coordinator for the research project, said the 16 centers in Iowa treated a total of 1,400 ECP cases last year.

Loftus-Granberg added that the Ames Planned Parenthood, 2530 Chamberlain St., averages 20 to 30 ECP cases each month.

ECPs should not be referred to as a morning-after pill because the name entails some misconceptions, Ellertson said.

“Women may think if they come in a day or two days after [unprotected sex], they’re too late. It can be used longer than the day after,” she said.

She added that women should not rely upon ECPs for routine birth control.

“I like the name ’emergency contraception’ because it shows they’re for emergency use rather than ongoing use,” she said. “We like to think of it as contraceptive first aid.”