What Would Happen If A Man Took Plan B?

Plan B — an emergency contraceptive known as the "morning-after pill" — is the sort of thing a person buys on an as-needed basis. It's not the kind of medication that is likely to sit around in someone's medicine cabinet to be confused with something else. But that doesn't stop people from wondering what would happen if a man took Plan B. Just for kicks, let's say a man accidentally ingested Plan B. What would happen?

A key point to answering this question is knowing how Plan B works. It is often incorrectly called an "abortion pill" because people assume that it can terminate an existing pregnancy. The company's website is quick to explain, however, that it can do no such thing. According to Plan B One-Step, the pill works by "temporarily delaying the release of an egg from the ovary." This delayed release means that any sperm on the way to the egg won't find anything to fertilize.

It's a short-term way to prevent pregnancy from occurring in the event a condom breaks or is forgotten. Although proven helpful to many, it's not a method without side effects. Insider explains that after taking a Plan B, side effects can include nausea, abdominal cramping, fatigue, and minor changes to the menstrual cycle. Though mostly mild, these side effects primarily occur in people with ovaries, eggs, and menstrual cycles.

The effects of Plan B on people without ovaries isn't a popular research subject. In fact, there's no existing research on it. So, for now, what we know is based on the experiences of men who have taken Plan B. Observer provides the most in-depth coverage based on one reporter's personal experience. While at a friend's house, the reporter Spencer Morgan took what he thought was an Ambien based on the bottle's appearance. When he told his friend what he had taken, she told him to try throwing the pill back up, as he had actually taken a Plan B and the stomach ache the following day wasn't something he would enjoy.

Spencer tried to do as she suggested but couldn't get the pill to come back up. And, as predicted, he had a horrible stomach ache the next day. When tiny red dots appeared in his eyes, he contacted a family friend who was a practicing physician. The doctor assured him he should be fine, but Morgan wasn't convinced. So, as a next step, he contacted poison control which also assured him the worst he could expect was a stomach ache and that, to quote the poison control hotline operator, kids got into "those sorts" of pills all the time with no ill effects. Ultimately, Morgan reported other side effects, such as an unusual color to his urine and stool. But he was, otherwise, unscathed after taking a Plan B.