Sep 15, 2023
Do I Need Emergency Contraception or the Abortion Pill?
![Ella emergency contraception pill from Planned Parenthood Direct](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.plannedparenthooddirect.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Farticle_details%2Fpublic%2F2023-11%2FElla_EmergencyContraception.png%3Fitok%3Dl8xat0uQ&w=640&q=100)
Medication abortion (also called abortion pills) and emergency contraception (also called the morning-after pill) are two very different treatments for very different situations. Abortion pills end a pregnancy — so you use them when you’re already pregnant. But emergency contraception, like ella, prevent pregnancy from happening in the first place — so you use it soon after sex but before you get pregnant.