Morning-After Pill to be Sold Over the Counter, FDA Says

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the morning-after pill will become available over the counter for sale to anyone older than 15, according to a statement released Tuesday. 

The pill will now be available on drugstore shelves just like condoms, but that buyers would have to prove their age at the cash register. This move comes just weeks after a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, ordered the FDA to make the morning-after birth control pill available to women of any age, without a prescription.

Earlier this month, a federal judge had ruled there should be no age restrictions and gave the FDA 30 days to act. The FDA said its latest decision was independent of the court case.

"Research has shown that access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. in a statement.  "The data reviewed by the agency demonstrated that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease."

"This decision is a step in the right direction for increased access to a product that is a safe and effective method of preventing unintended pregnancies," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash, according to the Associated Press. "It's also a decision that moves us closer to these critical availability decisions being based on science, not politics."