As a matter of government policy (not necessarily law), I was happy to see that 17-year-olds will probably be able to get the “morning-after pill” without a prescription:
The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it would accept, not appeal, a federal judge’s order that lifts Bush administration restrictions limiting over-the-counter sales of “Plan B” to women 18 and older. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ruled last month in a lawsuit filed in New York that President George W. Bush’s appointees let politics, not science, drive their decision to restrict over-the-counter access. . . .
[Judge] Korman ordered the FDA to let 17-year-olds get the birth control pills. He also directed the agency to evaluate clinical data to determine whether all age restrictions should be lifted. . . .
In 2003, a panel of outside advisers voted 23-4 to recommend over-the-counter sales without age restrictions. But top FDA officials told their subordinates that no approval could be issued at the time, and the decision would be made at a higher level. That’s considered highly unusual, since the FDA usually has the last word on drug decisions.
In his ruling, Korman said that FDA staffers were told the White House had been involved in the decision on Plan B.
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