Reproductive-rights groups are not satisfied with the United States Food and Drug Administration’s decision to sell the “morning after-pill” over the counter to girls young as 15 years old. These groups are threatening to sue unless the FDA lifts the age and point-of-sale restrictions on the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive.
The groups are giving the FDA till Monday to adjust its ruling.
In the event that the FDA does not adjust its ruling, the groups—which include the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and the Center for Reproductive Rights—will request that the FDA be held in contempt of an April 5 ruling. The FDA would then have 30 days to comply with the groups’ demands.
If the agency desired, it could ask for a temporary stop to the court order which would go into effect if the agency files an appeal. However, it has not taken any action. According to the FDA, the Department of Justice is currently considering possible options.
The original ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the groups in 2005 and was handed down by District Judge Edward Korman. The agency says that the decision handed down Tuesday was not a result of Korman’s ruling. Instead, the agency said the decision came from information submitted by the drug’s manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. According to the data, the drug was safe for girls at age 15.
According to a statement from Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, the FDA’s decision, "does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification or after the pharmacy gates have been closed for the night or weekend."
An FDA spokeswoman declined comment Wednesday.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards said the FDA decision was “an important step forward to expand access to emergency contraception and for preventing unintended pregnancy,” according to the Christian Science Monitor. However she went on to say, “we continue to believe that the administration should lift all unnecessary restrictions to emergency contraception, consistent with the prevailing science and medicine.”
