In a recent ruling, a federal judge in Brooklyn ordered the FDA to make the morning-after pill available to girls and women of all ages without a prescription, over the counter. Prior to this decision, girls under the age of 17 had to have a prescription, meaning a parent and/or doctor’s consent, in order to receive a morning-after pill, such as Plan B One-Step, as was stated by Health and Human Services in 2011.
According to CNN, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended last year that the morning-after pill be made available without a prescription for all women, in order to increase the availability of contraceptives and reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in the United States.
The judge’s decision was the result of a lawsuit brought on by the Center for Reproductive Rights, whose officials strove to provide better access to morning-after pills, by making it available to all women of any age without a prescription. In a statement, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights Nancy Northup said, “This landmark court decision has struck a huge blow to the deep-seated discrimination that has for too long denied women access to a full range of safe and effective birth control methods.”
But not everyone is in support of the expanded availability of the contraceptive. Anna Higgins, director of The Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity expressed her concern. “”There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent. The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today’s ruling removes these common sense protections,” she said in a statement.
Emergency contraceptives, like the morning-after pill, can be used up to 72 hours after unprotected sex in order to prevent pregnancy, even after the egg has been fertilized. If a fertilized egg has already attached itself to the uterus, however, a morning-after pill won’t be affective.
The new ruling has not yet received any comment from the FDA, since it’s “an ongoing legal matter,” according to CNN.
