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Findlay Kember/AP

US court orders wider access for morning after pill regardless of age

The judge ruled that current restrictions requiring teens to obtain a prescription were “politically motivated” and “scientifically unjustified”.

AFTER A DECADE-long battle over access to emergency contraception, a federal judge today ordered US regulators to make the morning after pill available over the counter without limits on age.

US District Court Judge Edward Korman ruled that a decision in 2011 by the chief of US Health and Human Services to require teens under 17 to obtain a prescription was “politically motivated” and “scientifically unjustified.”

The ruling orders the Food and Drug Administration to make levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception available over the counter to people under 17 without a doctor’s prescription.

Emergency contraceptives contain the same active ingredients as birth control pills but at higher doses, and can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse.

Experts say emergency contraception is most effective during the first 24 hours.

Age limit

But US pharmacies have required a prescription for those younger than 17. Those 17 and over must present government-issued identification in order to purchase it, and it has only been available at pharmacies.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which brought the latest lawsuit, hailed the ruling as a “landmark decision” and a “victory” for women.

“Today, science has finally prevailed over politics,” said Nancy Northup, the group’s president.

“No longer will any woman rush into an all-night drugstore only to find the pharmacy gates closed and emergency contraception, which is most effective when taken immediately, just out of her reach.”

It was unclear whether the US government would appeal. An FDA spokeswoman told AFP the agency would have no comment on the ruling.

“This is an ongoing legal matter for the agency, so we won’t have any additional comment at this time,” she said.

The fight over access to the morning after pill, which was approved for prescription use in 1999, has been raging since 2001, with advocates saying there should be wider access and critics warning of health and social dangers.

Over-the-counter access

In December 2011, the Food and Drug Administration was poised to allow over-the-counter access to a morning after pill called Plan B One-Step, made by Pennsylvania-based Teva Pharmaceuticals.

But this was swiftly blocked by another government agency, Health and Human Services.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said there was not enough data on its use by under-17s and cited “significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age.”

President Barack Obama supported Sebelius, saying at the time she was not confident it should be as available to 10- or 11-year-olds as bubble gum or batteries, since it could have adverse effects if not used properly.

However, Judge Korman’s 59-page ruling on Friday described US regulators’ moves to restrict access as “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”

Since fewer than three percent of girls under 13 are sexually active in the United States, “the potential population about whom the Secretary is concerned is infinitesimal,” he wrote.

His ruling orders the FDA to make Plan B and its generic equivalents available without a prescription and without age restrictions within thirty days.

A single dose of emergency contraception currently costs about $50, and its generic equivalent costs about $10 dollars less, women’s rights advocates said.

Meanwhile, a leading conservative opponent of wider access to the morning after pill expressed “serious concerns” about the ruling.

“There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent,” said Anna Higgins, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council.

“The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today’s ruling removes these commonsense protections,” she said in a statement.

- © AFP 2013.

Read: HSE costs for morning after pill fall>
Read: Young people in Ireland using contraception more consistently>

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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    Mar 15th 2019, 7:44 AM

    The whole “we can have nukes but you cant” attitude by the US must make it nigh on impossible to achieve anything with these talks

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    Mute Stephen O'Donoghue
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    Mar 15th 2019, 7:53 AM

    @Quiet Goer: That’s the way it should be.

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    Mute Colm Ó hAodhagáin
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    Mar 15th 2019, 8:06 AM

    @Stephen O’Donoghue: ?

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
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    Mar 15th 2019, 8:23 AM

    @Stephen O’Donoghue: the US are quick enough to arm who it likes.

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    Mute Stephen O'Donoghue
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    Mar 15th 2019, 8:49 AM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: That has feck all to do with Nuclear weapons which can take out the entire world rather than some far away country with pea shooters. That’s a totally ludicrous statement.

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    Mute Billy Nomates
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    Mar 15th 2019, 8:56 AM

    @Stephen O’Donoghue: and a whackjob has the codes.

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    Mute Stephen O'Donoghue
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    Mar 15th 2019, 9:02 AM

    @Billy Nomates: True, but we need to keep the whackjobs down to a minimum

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    Mar 15th 2019, 2:11 PM

    @Stephen O’Donoghue: No it’s not. If American wants denuclearisation then they should lead by example.

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    Mute Stephen O'Donoghue
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    Mar 15th 2019, 2:53 PM

    @Rob Cahill: Have you seen how many countries have nuclear weapons? It has to be a joint venture, one isnt going to disarm while others are not.

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    Mute Bridget O'Hanlon
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    Mar 15th 2019, 7:43 PM

    @Stephen O’Donoghue: But the USA thinks that North Korea should unilaterally disarm. Why should they?

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    Mute Diarmuid Moore
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    Mar 15th 2019, 8:15 AM

    The US don’t want a solution to North Korea. They want a ready to start war for when they are finished in the Middle East or when arms sales are slowing down. This is all just a show and a useful distraction for trump when there is embarrassment at home.

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    Mute Shane Dignam
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    Mar 15th 2019, 12:55 PM

    @Diarmuid Moore: Just to clarify, that’s what the NeoCons, Dems and let’s call them deeply embedded career bureaucrats and agents want, not what The President or the people want.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 15th 2019, 9:27 AM

    Trump whinging about May not taking his negotiating advice while forgetting he’s failed miserably with NK, getting the Mexicans to build a wall, building the wall, winning against China.

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    Mute Xanadu Marmalade
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    Mar 15th 2019, 9:33 AM

    Golden opportunity and Trump throws it away, Golden shower on the other hand.

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    Mute Frank Mullen
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    Mar 15th 2019, 1:59 PM

    It’s hard to fault the North Koreans on this…How bad has the US become if Kim & co are sounding reasonable in comparison

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    Mute Shane Dignam
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    Mar 15th 2019, 1:59 PM

    And in other news, Nancy Pelosi wants to lower the voting age to 16 now that the President is trying to bring in Voter I.D. cards. Not too hard to connect the dots on that one. This after passing a resolution in the House for voting rights for illegals earlier in the week. Whatever it takes to stay in power Nancy.

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    Mute emul8ter25
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    Mar 15th 2019, 6:17 PM

    @Shane Dignam: pot calling the kettle black? Didn’t the Irish kick up hell over a potential required government ID?

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    Mute Shane Dignam
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    Mar 15th 2019, 6:37 PM

    @emul8ter25: Irish in America or here at home? Sorry don’t know what you are referring to. All I know is that the US is one of very few developed countries without voter ID and the dems are desperately trying to allow illegals and minors get the vote to cancel out the losses this would bring about.

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    Mute Billy Nomates
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    Mar 16th 2019, 12:02 AM

    Trump should never have given him a stage like that, he doesn’t need it. Trump is backwards and old school in his negotiations like a 80s Real Estate hustler – shower with unlimited praise and affection , get them to commit then knife in the back. Kim isn’t stupid to fall into his trap.

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