New program lets Missouri residents request free emergency contraception by mail

The Missouri Family Health Council is using federal funds to allow Missourians to request kits with free contraceptive pills by visiting their website or going to one of the partnering in-person centers to pick them up.
Anyone with a Missouri address can now request emergency contraception pills be shipped to them by mail, for free, under a pilot program launched Thursday by a health care nonprofit.

Missouri Family Health Council Inc. launched the “Free EC” initiative using federal Title X funds for family planning programs. Missourians can request the pills through an online form on the nonprofit’s website or pick them up at designated in-person centers.

Also known as the morning-after pill, or by the brand name Plan B, the emergency contraception pill is an over-the-counter form of birth control that can be taken up to five days after unprotected sex to avoid pregnancy.