According to a report by the New York Times, the Federal Food and Drug Administration approved ella, a new form of emergency contraceptive pill last Friday.

Available by prescription only, the pill prevents pregnancies if taken up to as many as five days after unprotected sex.  It is considered to be more effective than Plan B, the morning-after pill now available over the counter to women 17 and older.

The pill was originally developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health and now named after Eunice Kennedy Shriver which financed a crucial 2002 study to assess the drug’s effectiveness as an emergency contraceptive.

Studies have shown that more than one million women are estimated to have unprotected sex every night in the United States and half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended.  In addition, more than 25,000 become pregnant every year after being sexually assaulted.

Although the decision was denounced by anti-abortion activists, studies have found that emergency contraception has no effect on pregnancy and abortion rates because a percentage of women don’t realize they are at risk for an unplanned pregnancy and so don’t use the emergency contraceptives, even when they receive them for free.

The most common side effects associated with ella’s use were mild to moderate headache, nausea, abdominal pain, painful menstrual cramps, fatigue and dizziness.  Studies also show that ella is less effective in obese women.