Brooklyn Judge Orders FDA to Lift Age Limits on Plan B Pill

On Friday April 5th, Federal Brooklyn Judge Edward Korman announced to the FDA that they have 30 days to abide by his ruling to lift age limits on the morning after pill, levonorgestrel, also known as Teva Women’s Health, Inc, Plan B One-Step.  The judge’s ruling reversed the 2011 decision which limited over-the-counter ability of Plan B to women ages 17 and older to purchase the pill.  Before the judges ruling, women 17 and under could only obtain the pill with a prescription, a decision made by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. 

By making the pill OTC those that oppose prescription requirements hope the pill would be easier for sexually active women to obtain.  Judge Korman had this to say in his order.  “The decisions of the Secretary with respect to Plan B One-Step and that of the FDA with respect to the Citizen Petition, which it had no choice to deny, were arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable,” said Korman.  According to the judge’s order Plan B would be: 

• On pharmacy shelves within 30 days. 
• Would be available without point of sale restrictions which include needing to show personal identification or needing to be a certain age to buy the product. 
• Plan B may be available in other settings other than a typical pharmacy with a pharmacist on duty according to Susan Wood who is Associate Professor at George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services.   

Pharmacy technicians will want to make note of this news and share the information with fellow technicians.  More information can be found on Plan B by going to www.planbonestep.com. 

Sources: 

1.  Plan B One-Step Web Site.  www.planbonestep.com

2.  Marzulli, John.  “Judge Orders FDA to Make Plan B Morning After Pill Available to Females of All Ages.”  NY Daily News.  Web.  5 Apr 2013. 

3.  Evans, Vanessa.  “Federal Judge Orders Age Restrictions on Plan B to Be Lifted.”  Yahoo! News.  Web.  5 Apr 2013.     

4.  Belluck, Pam.  “Judge Strikes Down Age Limits on Morning After Pill.”  NY Times.  Web.  5 Apr 2013.     

5.  Landau, Elizabeth.  “Judge Orders Morning-After Pill Available Without Prescription.”  CNN.  Web.  5 Apr 2013.