A U.S. District Court judge in New York on Friday overturned an Obama administration ban against women under 17 buying ?morning after? emergency contraception over the counter at drug stores without a prescription.
The restriction, in which HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overturned the Food and Drug Administration, was ?a strong showing of bad faith and improper political influence? ruled Judge Edward Korman.? He directed that the FDA lift the ban within a month.
Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., both advocate over the counter pharmacy sales of Plan B, the so-called "morning after" birth control pill.
U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-wash. have been outspoken critics of the ban.? Murray, on Friday, applauded Judge Korman?s decision.
?Today?s ruling highlights the importance of FDA regulations being based on science, not politics,? said Murray.? ?As numerous medical society and patient advocates have argued, improved access to birth control, including emergency contraception, has been proven to benefit a woman?s persona, economic and societal health and stability.
?Increasing access to obtain a safe and effective product they may need to prevent an unintended pregnancy is an essential part of basic health care.?
In a sharply worded decision, Judge Korman said:? ?The decisions of the secretary with respect to Plan B one-step . . . were arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.? He directed that the FDA ?make levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptives available without a prescription without point-of-sale or age restrictions within 30 days.?
In 2011, Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius rejected an FDA recommendation that adult women and teenagers be allowed to buy Plan B over-the-counter in pharmacies.? The agency was prepared to decide that morning-after medication be sold without prescription to anyone wishing to buy it.
Plan B is available to women under 17 only by prescription.? Adult women must ask their pharmacist for it.
Plan B is also subject to a federal court fight in this state.? The State Pharmacy Board has ruled that it must be made available at all pharmacies.? The ruling has been challenged on grounds of conscience by several pharmacies and pharmacists, who argue that providing it would make them facilitators of abortion.
The Plan B battle has gone on for more than a decade, since its manufacturer asked the FDA to allow sale of the drug over the counter.? The FDA initially denied the request, and then announced it was postponing review, and then worked out a policy to allow women over 18 to buy the drug ? but requiring that they request it at a pharmacy.
Judge Korman acidly commented:
?More than 12 years have passed since the citizen petition was filed and eight years since this lawsuit commenced.? The FDA has engaged in intolerable delays in processing the petition.? Indeed, it could accurately be described as an administrative agency filibuster.?
The Catholic Church hierarchy has strongly opposed the ?morning after? pill.? But Jon O?Brien of Catholics for Choice, applauding Judge Korman?s ruling, said:? ?Studies show that Catholics use and support access to emergency contraception at rates as high as or higher than the general population.?
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