The “morning after” pill can be made available nationwide to women of all ages and without a prescription, a federal judge ruled, dealing a blow to U.S. restrictions on access to the contraceptive.
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, New York, excoriated the Food and Drug Administration yesterday for what he called a 12-year delay in making the emergency contraceptive, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s Plan B, available over the counter. The case isn’t about “the potential misuse of Plan B by 11-year-olds,” the judge said, while acknowledging that easier access to contraception may encourage sexual conduct by minors.
