U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ruled Wednesday that young girls should not be allowed to buy the Plan B morning-after pill over the counter without a prescription. The ruling was a shock, particularly since the decision overruled a recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration to lift age limits on the purchase of the emergency contraceptive.
Current rules, which allow women age 17 and older to purchase the drug without prescription, will remain in place. Sebelius’ decision does not mean that women under 17 will not have access to the drug. They still can purchase it, but only with a prescription. That requirement, some reasonably have argued, is a disservice to young women.
A number of medical, public health and advocacy groups believe that removing the age limitation and making the drug – generally agreed to be both safe and effective – more widely available would help the ongoing effort to lower the high number of unplanned pregnancies in the United States. The FDA decision to lift the age limit supported that belief.
Sebelius’ ruling is not the first time Plan B has been embroiled in controversy. Indeed, the medication taken after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy initially made it to pharmacies only after long debate.
For several years the drug unfortunately was caught up in a political war that pitted scientists, women’s health and pro-choice groups and many physicians against conservatives and pro-life activists. The latter successfully pushed the George W. Bush administration to oppose all sales of Plan B. It was a short-term triumph. Courts and common sense eventually convinced regulators to approve the medication for sale with age restrictions.