Judge's authority questioned in morning-after pill decision
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman's ruling which required the FDA to lift age limits on the Plan-B morning-after pill will be challenged by the Justice Department. On Tuesday, anyone over 15 could begin buying Plan B One-Step without a prescription.
A Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive box in this photo taken in New York April 5. The US Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday it has lowered the age restriction on buying Plan B One-Step, a type of morning-after pill, without a prescription from 17 to 15.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
WASHINGTON
The Justice Department is appealing a judge's decision lifting all age limits on the Plan B morning-afer birth control pill and a cheaper generic.
The federal government says the judge who issued the ruling had exceeded his authority and that his decision should be suspended while the appeal is underway.
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York had given the Food and Drug Administration until Monday to lift all age limits on Plan B and cheaper generic. The judge mandated that emergency contraception be sold just like aspirin.
On Tuesday, the FDA said anyone 15 or older could begin buying one brand, Plan B One-Step, without a prescription — two years younger than the current age limit of 17.