Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and 96 other members of Congress in a letter sent on Thursday to Diane Stuart, director of the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, "strongly urged" DOJ to revise its guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault survivors to include information about emergency contraception, the Long Island Newsday reports (Kerr, Long Island Newsday, 1/14). DOJ in September 2004 published its first-ever guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault survivors but failed to mention the use of EC, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. The 141-page protocol includes a section on pregnancy "risk evaluation and care" that instructs health care personnel to consider "seriously" a survivor's fear of pregnancy, administer a pregnancy test and "discuss treatment options -- including reproductive health services" -- but does not mention EC specifically (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 1/12). The letter says that "by failing to even mention ... (emergency contraception) as a potential option for sexual assault victims, the department ignores a crucial opportunity to provide vital and time-sensitive health care to victims of rape and sexual assault." Maloney, who led the move to contact DOJ about the guidelines, said, "It is clear that the administration's ideological opposition to choice now even extends to rape victims. Women who are sexually violated at the very least deserve the right to prevent unwanted pregnancies." DOJ did not immediately return calls seeking comment, Newsday reports (Long Island Newsday, 1/14).