Over-the-Counter 'Morning-After' Pills Only for Ages 17 and Up, Justice Department Says

Religion Today | Updated: May 02, 2013

Over-the-Counter 'Morning-After' Pills Only for Ages 17 and Up, Justice Department Says

Less than one day after the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug company's application to make the "morning-after" pill available over-the-counter to women ages 15 and up, the U.S. Department of Justice has appealed a federal judge's ruling that the FDA lift all age restrictions on the drug, Christianity Today reports. In early April, a federal judge ruled that the FDA should make all emergency contraceptives available without prescriptions to women of all ages -- a decision that would put Plan B and similar birth control pills among women's health products on drug store shelves. The judge mandated that his ruling be implemented within 30 days, and the FDA seemed poised to comply by making the Plan B One-Step drug available to anyone over 15. However, the latest action by the Justice Department could stop the FDA from placing other morning-after pills on store shelves any time soon. The Justice Department's request for an injunction does not impact the FDA's decision to allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B to 15-year-olds, but instead would limit sales of all other non-name-brand drugs. 



Over-the-Counter 'Morning-After' Pills Only for Ages 17 and Up, Justice Department Says