Online Sales Give Women Emergency Contraceptives at Half the Price

Syzygy, a health care company that launched last year, is encouraging women to pick up birth control by offering their emergency contraceptive AfterPill at roughly half the price of over-the-counter birth control. How are they able to provide it so inexpensively? By avoiding the pharmacy altogether and exclusively selling it online.

Syzygy’s managing director Jamie Barickman stated that the choice to cut the middleman out and sell their product directly to customers online is all about affordability, as RH Reality Check reports:

“We know that there’s a large number of women who take the risk of becoming pregnant after having unprotected sex instead of purchasing emergency contraceptives because the price is high.”

In March, the FDA allowed generic emergency contraceptives brands to apply for over-the-counter sale, but even though Plan B is not the only option, that shit is still pretty expensive. Normally emergency contraceptive prices run around $40-$50 per dose—Syzygy offers AfterPill for $20 per dose, plus five bucks for a flat shipping rate.

Of course, going with AfterPill means buying your EC ahead of time and being prepared for the emergency. So over-the-counter is still a far more convenient option the morning after if you short of EC, but hell, it’s only a matter of time before drones deliver everything within the hour anyway.