This literature review aims to discuss policies for provision of emergency contraception (EC), especially through pharmacies, in the international and national literature. Research was conducted in Medline/Pubmed, Sociological Abstracts and SciELO Brazil, considering the period of the January/2005-December/2009, using the terms: emergency contraception and pharmacy, and also emergency contraception for the Brazilian context. For analysis, we selected 36 articles, 29 international and seven national. The discussion of the results included two analytical perspectives: availability and barriers to EC in pharmacies, focusing on the position of pharmacists on the method, and the position of users of emergency contraception and the supplies sites, in the national and international context. Studies show that the adoption of policies favorable to the distribution of emergency contraception in pharmacies with a prescription for pharmacists generally provides positive assessment of pharmacists and users, mainly by dispensing more agile method. The adoption of this policy has generated the need for counseling on sexual and reproductive health consumers in the pharmacy. However, this strategy has not been suggested in Brazil, where the drug is often sold without a prescription and guidance of the pharmacist as there is no specific policy in this regard.
Emergency contraceptive; postcoital contraceptives; pharmacy; sexual and reproductive health