Judge Bans Age Restriction on Morning-After Pills Access

U.S. District Judge Edward Korman called the government's age restriction on access of the so-called morning-after pill 'scientifically unjustified.'

The federal judge said it as he ruled that emergency contraceptives methods like Plan B and Next Choice should be available to all, irrespective to age.

Judge Korman's decision throws cold water to the Department of Health and Human Services which not long ago had blocked efforts to allowing girls younger than 17 to get their hand on alternative contraceptive methods.

According to Friday ruling, girls and boys of any age can buy the medication without having to notify their parents or a doctor.

Judge Korman called government regulators "politically motivated and scientifically unjustified,"  as he ruled that levonorgestrel-based contraceptives such as Plan B One-Step and Next Choice One Dose to be available within 30 days over the counter to all customers.

"There is no serious health risk associated with use of Plan B as prescribed and intended, much less one that would make restrictions on distribution necessary for its safe use," the Judge wrote.

For the skeptical there's still the U.S. Department of Justice to revoke Judge Korman's ruling. But, if that one fails to turn Friday's ruling, contraceptives will be as readily available to minors as Tylenol or Benadryl. The only significant barrier to access would be the pill's hefty $50 price tag.

"A federal judge has accomplished what two administrations failed to do: make a decision about access to a drug based on medical evidence," said Michael Halpern, program manager at the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Like Harpern, many reproductive rights advocates toasted to Korman's ruling as a victory of science over politics, and said the ruling was a long time in coming for the politically sensitive drug.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, hailed the ruling in a statement.

"Women all over the country will no longer face arbitrary delays and barriers just to get emergency contraception," she wrote.