FDA Will Let 17-Year-Olds Get 'Morning After' Pill

Teva says girls 11 to 16 should be able to get it without doctor's order

(NEWSER) - The makers of Plan B, the morning-after pill now approved for women 17 and older without a doctor's prescription, are pushing to make it as easily available to girls as young as 11. Girls under 17 currently need a prescription to get it, but Teva Pharmaceuticals holds that any female regardless of age should be able to get the drug quickly if needed because it must be taken within three days of unprotected sex. It's asking the FDA to lift the current restrictions. More»

(NEWSER) - A federal judge today ordered the Food and Drug Administration to immediately relax age restrictions on the morning-after contraception pill, and reconsider whether there should be any restrictions at all, the Washington Post reports. Since 2005, the pill has been available without a prescription only to women over 18; within 30 days, that age must be 17, the judge ordered. More»

...by law, they're supposed to sell it to teens of that age

(NEWSER) - Pharmacies are required by law to provide over-the-counter emergency contraception to 17-year-olds without a prescription, but a new study in Pediatrics journal found that one out of five drugstores does not comply. Boston University researchers contacted all the pharmacies (943 total) in five big cities twice, posing as a 17-year-old once and as a doctor the second time. The supposed 17-year-old girls, upon requesting Plan B and giving their age, were denied access by 19% of the drugstores, the New York Daily News reports. More»

Washington state pharmacists no longer required to dole out emergency contraception

(NEWSER) - Pharmacists in Washington state who disagree with emergency contraception on religious grounds can no longer be required to dispense it, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The judge declared the state's regulation unconstitutional, noting that pharmacies in the state are allowed to not stock drugs for various secular reasons—for instance, not stocking Oxycodone over fears of robbery—and should be allowed similar refusals for reasons of "conscientious objection." More»

Calls for 'common sense' about over-the-counter drugs

(NEWSER) - President Obama supports Kathleen Sebelius' unusual decision to overrule an FDA move to make the morning-after pill easier for younger girls to buy , he said yesterday. Obama said he "did not get involved in the process," but endorsed the health secretary's rejection of the agency's effort to allow girls under 17 to get the pill without a prescription, the New York Times reports. More»