News broke this morning that a federal judge has ordered the morning after pill to be available to women of all ages without a prescription. A 2005 lawsuit discovered that the Bush administration had pushed the FDA to place an age limit on the pill for "political reasons," as Gothamist puts it. In 2009, the court said that the FDA had acted "in bad faith and in response to political pressure."
In 2011, the FDA opted the lift the age gate on Plan B, but the Obama administration overturned their decision. Judge Edward R. Korman criticized this move, calling it "an election year decision that many public health experts saw as a politically motivated effort to avoid riling religious groups and others opposed to making birth control available to girls."
Following the Korman's decision, the morning after pill should be available to all women within the next 30 days.
[via Gothamist]
