The decision comes a month after New York Judge Edward R. Korman ordered the agency to make the morning-after pill or Plan B accessible to teenagers younger than 17 within 30 days and to review whether to make the emergency contraceptive available to all ages without a doctor’s prescription.

 

The morning after pill is effective up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex, birth control failure, or rape, but it is most effective (95 percent) if taken within 24 hours.

 

The FDA prohibited the use of the morning-after pill in women younger than 18 two years ago, during the Bush Administration, which brought the agency harsh criticism. In his decision, Korman repeatedly criticized the FDA’s handling of the issue saying the agency was influenced by “political and ideological” considerations imposed by the Bush Administration.

 

“These political considerations, delays and implausible justifications for decision-making are not the only evidence of a lack of good faith and reasoned agency decision-making. Indeed, the record is clear that the FDA's course of conduct regarding Plan B departed in significant ways from the agency's normal procedures regarding similar applications to switch a drug from prescription to non-prescription use,” he wrote in his decision.

 

“Today's ruling is a tremendous victory for all Americans who expect the government to safeguard public health. The message is clear -- the FDA should put medical science first and leave politics at the lab door. We are encouraged that the agency, now under new leadership, will take that message to heart,” Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which brought the lawsuit against the FDA, said a month ago.

 

Many supporters of the Plan B are delighted with the FDA’s decision, saying that it would lower teen pregnancy in the United States, which had been declining for 14 years. However, increases were reported in 2006 and 2007, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Additional data shows that 1.7 million babies were born to unmarried women in 2007, up 25 percent from 2002. Almost 40 percent of all babies born in the U.S. in 2007 were delivered to unwed mothers.

 

“In accordance with the court's order, and consistent with the scientific findings since 2005 by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA sent a letter to the manufacturer of Plan B that the company may, upon submission and approval of an appropriate application, market Plan B without a prescription to women 17 years of age and older,” an FDA’s statement wrote.