Health
Plan B access expanded
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 4, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration announced April 22 that it will allow the sale of Plan B without a prescription to women as young as 17, a move that would make the contraceptive available to minors without a doctor's prescription for the first time.
The FDA took this action in response to a March 23 federal court order directing it to do so within 30 days. The court order also directed the agency to reconsider other restrictions, including whether the drug could be made available to all ages.
Plan B, which is manufactured by Duramed Research Inc., a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, consists of higher doses of a hormone found in many standard birth control pills. Taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, it has been shown to be highly effective in preventing pregnancy.
Since 2006, Plan B has been available as an over-the-counter option for women older than 18. Those opposed to this action have questioned the drug's safety and maintained that its wider availability could encourage sexual activity. Some also maintain that Plan B causes what is the equivalent of an abortion. But external and internal reviewers to the FDA urged its nonprescription availability as early as 2003.
The federal government has said it will not appeal the court's order.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/05/04/hlbf0504.htm.
