Life

The "Slut Pill" Could Be Coming To You Soon

by Carrie Murphy

Hey "sluts," get ready. There might soon be a birth control pill for you! That is, there could soon be an "on demand" birth control pill, one that you take just before you have sex. A study in the journal Contraception looked at whether women would be interested in taking a birth control of this kind, and unsurprisingly, the research showed of course they would.

The pericoital pill doesn't even exist yet, but it's already gotten the nickname "the slut pill," apparently because of Rush Limbaugh's comments about Sandra Fluke and birth control, as well as the assumption that a woman who would want on-demand birth control has a lot of sex.

Not so, says Amanda Marcotte at Slate, who rightfully points out that it's way more likely that a pill of this kind would be used by women who don't have sex frequently, aka single women. She writes:

If you're not in a relationship, it can feel like overkill to swallow a pill every day on the unlikely chance you're going to get laid. The pill is more suitable for long-term relationships where sex is a frequent occurrence, which is why a lot of women go on and off of the pill depending on their relationship status. If you're only getting laid every couple of months or so, it might be preferable to have a pill you only have to take when you have sex.

I'm all for anything that makes it easier for women to prevent unwanted pregnancy while enjoying a healthy sex life, so I say bring it on, researchers. When can we get this pericoital pill?