Why nobody is happy with FDA ruling on Plan B
The FDA has lowered the age restriction on buying Plan B One-Step, a type of morning-after pill, without a prescription from 17 to 15. Some groups want no limits on access; others want bigger barriers.
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On the conservative side, Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, slammed the rule.
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"It makes no sense that kids need parental permission to take aspirin at school, but they're free to buy and administer Plan B,” Ms. Nance said in a statement. “Also known as the morning-after pill, Plan B contains 40 times the dosage of Levonorgestrel, the same drug used in other forms of birth control. If Plan B is so 'safe,' then why is a prescription required for birth control?”
In the FDA announcement on the new rule, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, cited research that indicates women aged 15 and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Plan B One-Step is a single-dose pill that is most effective in decreasing the possibility of unwanted pregnancy if taken within three days of unprotected sexual intercourse, the FDA says.
The agency requires that the product carry a label that now reads, “not for sale to those under 15 years of age *proof of age required* not for sale where age cannot be verified.”
As opponents of the new rule point out, the age restriction could be easy to circumvent. Anyone – male or female – who meets the age requirement can now purchase the drug over the counter for an underage woman.
When asked what constitutes proof of age for a 15-year-old, an FDA spokeswoman replied, “passport or birth certificate.”
Some groups that support widespread availability of Plan B also expressed hostility to the new FDA rule. The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) – which won a victory last month when federal Judge Edward Korman ordered that Plan B be made available without age or point-of-sale restrictions – asserted that any restrictions will keep the drug out of the hands of women who need it.
“Lowering the age restriction to 15 for over-the-counter access to Plan B One-Step may reduce delays for some young women – but it does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification or after the pharmacy gates have been closed for the night or weekend,” the CRR said.
The group pledged to continue its battle in court.
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