Joe Raedle / Getty Images file
The judge's ruling would expand access to all brands of levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception, including those such as Plan B, to young girls.
A federal judge on Friday reversed a contentious Food and Drug Administration ruling and ordered the agency to make the so-called "morning-after pill" available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age, including those younger than 17.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, New York, comes in a lawsuit brought by reproductive-rights groups that had sought to remove age and other restrictions on emergency contraception, as Reuters first reported.
Currently, only women aged 17 and or older can obtain emergency contraception without a prescription. That rule has been in place since December 2011, when Health and Human ServicesSecretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled an FDA recommendation -- and Commissioner Margaret Hamburg -- to force the agency to limit emergency contraception to young girls.
Sebelius had said she wasn't convinced that Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., the maker of Plan B One-Step, had proven that non-prescription use of emergency contraceptives containing the drug levonorgestrel should be broadened. She expressed concern that girls reaching reproductive maturity at age 11 -- or even younger -- could have access to the medication.
At the time, that decision drew intense criticism from medical and women's rights groups, who said that denying access defied strong scientific data that showed that emergency contraception is safe and effective for girls and women of all ages.
In his ruling Friday, Korman said the FDA's rejection of requests to remove age restrictions to obtain the pill had been "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable," Reuters reported.
The ruling would expand access to all brands of levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception, including those such as Plan B and Next Choice, to women of all ages. It lifts so-called "point of sale" restrictions and would allow drug companies to apply to make emergency contraception available to women of all ages at stores other than pharmacies.
Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, hailed the ruling. "Women all over the country will no longer face arbitrary delays and barriers just to get emergency contraception," she told Reuters.
The group was among those that brought the lawsuit. Northup and others planned a press call to answer questions about the ruling on Friday.
Meanwhile, news of the ruling was applauded by a range of women's rights and reproductive rights groups.
“Lifting the age restrictions on over-the-counter emergency contraception is a significant and long-overdue step forward for women’s health that will benefit women of all ages," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federal of America, in a statement.
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health said the ruling would benefit immigrant and young Latina women.
"For too long, this important backup birth control method has been kept behind the counter and out of reach," the organization's leaders said in a statement. "Immigrant women and new Americans of all ages have been hit particularly hard since they are less likely to have government identification."
FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson declined to comment on the ruling, saying it was an ongoing legal matter.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images file
The judge's ruling would expand access to all brands of levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception, including those such as Plan B, to young girls.
A federal judge on Friday reversed a contentious Food and Drug Administration ruling and ordered the agency to make the so-called "morning-after pill" available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age, including those younger than 17.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, New York, comes in a lawsuit brought by reproductive-rights groups that had sought to remove age and other restrictions on emergency contraception, as Reuters first reported.
Currently, only women aged 17 and or older can obtain emergency contraception without a prescription. That rule has been in place since December 2011, when Health and Human ServicesSecretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled an FDA recommendation -- and Commissioner Margaret Hamburg -- to force the agency to limit emergency contraception to young girls.
Sebelius had said she wasn't convinced that Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., the maker of Plan B One-Step, had proven that non-prescription use of emergency contraceptives containing the drug levonorgestrel should be broadened. She expressed concern that girls reaching reproductive maturity at age 11 -- or even younger -- could have access to the medication.
At the time, that decision drew intense criticism from medical and women's rights groups, who said that denying access defied strong scientific data that showed that emergency contraception is safe and effective for girls and women of all ages.
In his ruling Friday, Korman said the FDA's rejection of requests to remove age restrictions to obtain the pill had been "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable," Reuters reported.
The ruling would expand access to all brands of levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception, including those such as Plan B and Next Choice, to women of all ages. It lifts so-called "point of sale" restrictions and would allow drug companies to apply to make emergency contraception available to women of all ages at stores other than pharmacies.
Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, hailed the ruling. "Women all over the country will no longer face arbitrary delays and barriers just to get emergency contraception," she told Reuters.
The group was among those that brought the lawsuit. Northup and others planned a press call to answer questions about the ruling on Friday.
Meanwhile, news of the ruling was applauded by a range of women's rights and reproductive rights groups.
“Lifting the age restrictions on over-the-counter emergency contraception is a significant and long-overdue step forward for women’s health that will benefit women of all ages," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federal of America, in a statement.
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health said the ruling would benefit immigrant and young Latina women.
"For too long, this important backup birth control method has been kept behind the counter and out of reach," the organization's leaders said in a statement. "Immigrant women and new Americans of all ages have been hit particularly hard since they are less likely to have government identification."
FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson declined to comment on the ruling, saying it was an ongoing legal matter.
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