Ruling Makes Morning-After Pill Available to Teens

A federal judge ruled earlier in April that Plan-B, a common morning-after pill used to prevent pregnancy, should be made available over the counter to women 16 and younger without a prescription.

Both Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies around the Greater Philadelphia Area carry Plan-B and other morning-after pills designed to halt pregnancy impacted by this ruling. The FDA has been instructed to remove all limitations on the drug within 30 days of the April 5 ruling.

Before this ruling, women age 17 and older were able to purchase the drug over-the-counter with a proof of age, but women 16 and younger had to receive a prescription from a doctor before being allowed access to the pill.

Judge Edward R. Korman overturned these limitations, which were imposed by the Federal Drug Administration, saying “these barriers … have the effect of preventing some women from accessing the drug in the short time during which it will be effective.”

“The drug has [no] known serious or long-term side effects, though there may be some mild short-term side effects, such as nausea, fatigue and headache,” he said in a statement.

Should women age 16 and younger have access to morning-after pills? Is it unreasonable to ask for a prescription, even if the drug is most effective within its first few hours? Tell use what you think.