Today the medication Plan B, most commonly known as the morning-after pill, was made available for women of all ages without a prescription. Federal judge Edward R. Korman ruled that Plan B should be accessible to any woman who seeks it, without restrictions.
“Morning after” pills are one type of emergency contraception and are known to prevent a pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse. The most common brands are Plan B and Preven and they are sold at most drug stores in the U.S. for anywhere from $10 to $70 per dose.
Plan B has been on the market as a prescription since 1999 and available over the counter since 2001. In 2006, then-president George W. Bush made the medicine carry a required prescription for anyone under the age of 18. The Obama administration upheld the restrictions.
Judge Korman had pointed words about Mr. Obama’s appointed health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius: “the secretary’s action was politically motivated, scientifically unjustified, and contrary to agency precedent.”
According to an article by Pam Belluck in the New York Times, “Scientists, including those at the Food and Drug Administration, have recommended unrestricted access for years, as have the American Medical Association, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics. They contend that the restrictions effectively keep many adolescents and younger teenagers from being able to use a safe drug in a timely way to prevent pregnancy, which carries greater safety risks than the morning-after pill.”
Comments