Survey finds many Missourians are confused about the legality of some contraception

A quarter of Missourians do not know or believe that birth control pills are legal in the state.

That’s one of the many findings released in a new survey through the Right Time initiative. Generally, many Missourians are unaware that some types of birth control are legal. More than half of the survey’s 1,000 respondents said they did not know or believe that emergency contraception is legal.

It’s not surprising, said Michelle Trupiano, the executive director of the Missouri Family Health council. She said opponents of reproductive health services have spent years running an intentional “deception campaign” about medication abortions and emergency contraception.

“So of course many people are then confused,” Trupiano said. “A lot of people think they are the same medication when in fact they are very two different types of medication. Emergency contraception prevents a pregnancy, and then of course medication abortion actually terminates a pregnancy.”

Right Time is an initiative of the Missouri Foundation for Health and the Missouri Family Health Council. The goal of the Missouri-based initiative is to provide access to contraception throughout the state.