U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman in New York ordered the FDA to reconsider its 2006 decision to deny girls younger than 18 access to the morning-after pill Plan B without a prescription.
-- From "FDA Ordered to Rethink Age Restriction for Plan B"By Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 3/24/09
In his 52-page decision, Korman repeatedly criticized the FDA's handling of the issue, agreeing with allegations in a lawsuit that the [2006] decision was "arbitrary and capricious" and influenced by "political and ideological" considerations imposed by the Bush administration.
Plan B consists of higher doses of a hormone found in many standard birth-control pills. Taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, it has been shown to be highly effective at preventing pregnancy.
Conservative Congress members and advocacy groups . . . questioned the drug's safety and argued that wider availability could encourage sexual activity and make it easier for men to have sex with underage girls. They also maintain that Plan B can cause the equivalent of an abortion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
