perhaps you'd care to enlighten me on the difference between "emergency contraception" and a morning after pill? What other form of emergency contraception is there? From the context of the panel, it seems they were discussing providing access to RU-486
You are confused. There is no difference between EC and the "morning after pill" - they're different words for the same thing (though MAP is kind of a misnomer - it can be effective up to five days after sex, though the efficacy diminishes each day).
There is a HUGE difference between EC and RU-486.
EC is just a large dose of synthetic progesterone, which stops your body from ovulating for a few days. No ovulation = no egg = no pregnancy. If you have already ovulated, EC will not do anything to you at all, because after ovulation your body is releasing progesterone on its own (progesterone withdrawal is what causes your period.) EC is taken within 5 days of unprotected sex in an attempt to prevent pregnancy.
RU-486 (mifepristone), in contrast, is a progesterone inhibitor. In the US, it's taken between 4-8 weeks of pregnancy to induce abortion. Your uterine lining requires progesterone to sustain itself (and a pregnancy) after ovulation. No progesterone = your lining sheds, which is your period. RU-486 terminates an existing pregnancy by inserting itself into the progesterone receptors in your uterine lining. It's like shoving gum into a bunch of little locks. Your uterine lining doesn't get any more progesterone, so it sheds, causing miscarriage (or, I guess, if you weren't pregnant, it would just bring on your period.)
In layman's terms: EC prevents conception. RU-486 causes an abortion. The medications are completely different, are taken at different times, and act in an entirely different way. While EC is a contraceptive, RU-486 is an abortifacient.