This report reflects the preliminary findings of an ongoing collaborative project to investigate the impact of trade liberalisation on reproductive health rights. The project is being undertaken simultaneously by researchers at the School of Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and by researchers from the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)-India. In response to the growing international attention given to free trade, trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and the accessibility of essential drugs and medicines, the project aims to examine the links between trade policy and reproductive health commodities. In South Africa, the project focuses on the availability and use of emergency contraception pills (ECPs). Emergency contraception (EC) has been recognised both internationally and locally as being an important commodity with respect to the realisation of reproductive health rights.