On Tuesday, the FDA announced that it would allow Plan B One-Step, a brand of emergency contraception, to be sold over the counter to customers 15 and older, provided they show proof of age.
Prior to this decision Plan B One-Step, which is used after sexual intercourse to help prevent pregnancy, was available without a prescription but only for ages 17 and older.
According to The New York Times, the recent decision did not address a federal judge's ruling in early April which gave the Food and Drug Administration 30 days to make the pill available for all ages without a prescription.
Reuters.com reported that as a result of the ruling reproductive rights groups have become enraged with FDA. The groups have said that the agency must remove all age limits and point-of-sale restrictions on emergency contraception by Monday there will be consequences.
If their demands are not met the group plans on asking a Federal Judge in Brooklyn to hold the FDA in contempt for not abiding by the previous ruling that gave the agency 30 days to make the emergency contraceptive available.
Aside from lowering the age restriction, the new rule addresses concerns of women who were at times limited to time restriction in obtaining the pill if their drugstore's pharmacy counter was closed. Now, Plan B One-Step will be available in drugstore aisles where either family planning or women's health products are displayed.
The FDA's decision applies only to Plan B One-Step, which is a one-pill dose as opposed to the two-pill generic versions. There is not enough data to conclude if the two-dose versions can be used responsibly by younger teenagers without the intervention of a health provider, according to FDA spokeswoman, Erica Jefferson.
However Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, was not satisfied in the Tuesday ruling.
Northrup is far from giving up on the battle with the FDA, she stated, "we will continue our battle in court to remove these arbitrary restrictions on emergency contraception for all women."
