The Wall Street Journal reports that the federal government is dropping its appeal of a court order requiring the Food and Drug Administration to eliminate all age and other restrictions on the sale of the Plan B contraceptive, also known as the “morning after pill”:
“In a court filing Monday, the Justice Department said the Food and Drug Administration would make the Plan B pill available without age or point-of-sale restrictions, such as having to show identification to buy it.
The government said that would make it comply with an April order from U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, N.Y., ordering the FDA to eliminate age and other restrictions on who may buy Plan B.”
The FDA had previously agreed to allow the Plan B drug to be sold to people 15 and older without a prescription, lowering the minimum age from 17. The FDA’s previous order still required girls under 15 to get a prescription to buy the drug. Now, even that age requirement will be gone.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said:
“‘We are pleased that women should soon be able to buy Plan B One-Step without the arbitrary restrictions that kept it locked behind the pharmacy counter when they needed it most urgently.’”
Um, Ms. Northrup, women could already buy Plan B One-Step without restrictions. What the FDA is now allowing is for children to buy it. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, is not the point. The point is we need to be precise in our language. This new decision is not allowing women to buy this drug without a prescription. Women could already buy it without a prescription. This new decision is allowing children to buy this drug, without a prescription and without any adult’s knowledge.
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