A judge ruled March 23 that the controversial morning-after pill Plan B be available to 17 year olds without a prescription. U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman also ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider whether to make the drug available to girls of all ages without a prescription.
“Judge Korman based his decision on political talking points rather than facts. The FDA has never approved that a high-dose of a drug be available without a prescription when a lower dose of the same drug requires a prescription. But now an activist judge has ordered that minor girls have access to this drug without medical oversight or parental knowledge,” stated Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America.
“Even advocates for the morning-after pill have admitted, since the FDA’s decision, that Plan B is not as effective as they originally claimed. Making the morning-after pill easy to get has not resulted in fewer pregnancies or abortions, as advocates promised it would. Pregnancy counselors report more young women relying on it as a regular form of birth control – even though the drug has not been tested to discover what happens when it is used multiple times. This ruling puts politics above women’s health, and intrudes into parents’ ability to protect their minor daughters. Minor girls need permission to go on a field trip, get a piercing, or in some states use a tanning booth. But now, by one judge’s order, girls will be encouraged to rely on an ineffective drug without medical oversight or parental involvement.”
