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“From what I’ve read about birth control and its effectiveness on women over 165 pounds, it’s really concerning,” said Haneen Badri, a fourth-year student at Colorado State University. “Most average women in today’s society do not have access to a reliable form of birth control.”

We can’t pride ourselves on our medical advancements if the general population cannot use what is one of the few options available to us.” -Haneen Badri, CSU student

Anna Glasier, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, recommends “the copper intrauterine device (IUD) as a first line of defense. It offers a 95% success rate as emergency contraception, making it the most effective option by far.”

However, in the United States, an IUD is much more expensive than the morning-after pill.

“A dose increase of levonorgestrel is not proven to be a solution for (Plan B inefficiency on women over 165 pounds),” said Karina Gajek, a spokeswoman for HRA Pharma. “However, women with higher weight are advised to discuss alternative emergency contraceptive options with their physician: IUD or alternative oral emergency contraceptive.”

IUDs, however, can be accompanied by side affects, such as cramping or aching after the IUD is put in, spotting, irregular periods and heavier flow accompanied by worse menstrual cramps. Also, IUDs do not protect from sexually transmitted diseases, so a second method would have to be used as well.

There is another emergency contraceptive pill called ella, which became available in the United States in 2010 but hasn’t gotten as much attention as Plan B.

Rather than working as a synthetic progesterone, also called progestin, the way that hormonal birth control and levonorgestrel do, ella acts as an anti-progestin. Basically, ella “delays ovulation by rendering the progesterone receptor inert rather than allowing it to bind with progestin.”

The idea that there’s accessibility to functional, inclusive contraceptives for the average woman to take is a joke. 

“We can’t pride ourselves on our medical advancements if the general population cannot use what is one of the few options available to us,” Badri said. “It’s also very disappointing and deceiving that this information isn’t public knowledge.”

Kenia Ortiz can be reached at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @Kenia_Ortiz_.