Morning After Pill Available For All Ages Without Prescription

Date: Jun-11-2013The Obama administration has finally announced that it will follow a judge's order to allow easier access to the "morning after pill" for girls of any age, without the need for prescriptions.

The pill is strictly intended to be used as an emergency contraceptive, in cases where the primary birth control (such as a condom) failed to work.

The FDA originally approved the pill, called "Plan B One-Step", in 2009.

A previous application was submitted for Plan B One-Step to be available for sale over the counter to women of all ages, but the FDA did not approve it.

The company amended their application to make it available over the counter strictly for women 15 years of age and older, which did receive approval.

However, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman had ordered the FDA to make the morning after pill available without a prescription (over the counter) to all girls and women of reproductive age, on April 4, 2013.

Despite his order, the Justice Department appealed his ruling.

Korman said that the FDA's rejections to allow the morning after pill to be more accessible were "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable."

Many are against the morning after pill as they consider it to be an abortifacient and could pose health risks to women (in particular teenage girls).


President Obama said:



"As the father of two daughters, I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine."

Obama Drops Challenge To Teens Purchasing Pill

White House Decided To Drop The Appeal
However, on Monday the White House gave in and the Justice Department informed Edward Korman they plan on dropping the appeal.

The FDA informed the drug maker that produces the contraception to submit a revised application allowing it to be sold "without a prescription and without age or point-of-sale prescriptions."

Annie Tummino, the chair of the Women's Liberation Birth Control Project, and coordinator with the Morning-after Pill Conspiracy since 2004, said that it is "about time that the administration stopped opposing women having access to safe and effective birth control."


Women have the right to control their bodies without the need to have to go to a doctor or ask a pharmacist for permission, she added.



However, there are also those who oppose the move by the government.

Anna Higgins, director of the council's Center for Human Dignity, said:


"We're very concerned and disappointed at the same time because what we see here is the government caving to political pressure instead of putting first the health and safety of girls (and) parental rights."







The morning after pill will soon be easily accessible for all.
The April 5 ruling ordered for the morning after pill to be easily accessible for anyone with no age restrictions or need to have a prescription.


However, Korman said that the government's decision to appeal his order was "politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent."



The morning-after pill can reduce the chance of becoming pregnant by around 90 percent, when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. It contains a very high amount of the hormone progestin.

In 2011, the FDA was on the verge of allowing the morning after pill to be sold over-the-counter until the decision was overruled by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

In conclusion, women of all ages will soon be able to buy their morning after pills regardless of their age and without the need to see a doctor first.

The FDA said that emergency contraceptives such as Plan B One-Step should not be be used on a routine basis.

Written by Joseph Nordqvist


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