What You Should Know: The New Debate About Emergency Contraception
News outlets were all abuzz on Wednesday as the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would appeal a federal judge's controversial decision to make Plan B One-Step and emergency contraceptives like it available without prescription to girls and women of all ages.
Emergency contraception has long been a touchy subject among politicians, the media, and the greater public alike. But right now the debate centers around two questions: Should there be age restrictions on the pill, and who should decide?
On April 5, Judge Edward Korman answered in a resounding "no" to the first question when he ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to end all age restrictions on the pill and its generic counterparts by May 5. "Studies show that emergency contraception is a safe and effective form of birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken within five days of unprotected sex," said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and an outspoken supporter of Korman's decision. "Research also shows that teens are as likely as adults to use emergency contraception correctly... Age barriers to emergency contraception are not supported by science and should be eliminated."
The Obama administration and the FDA seem to disagree with Judge Korman on the subject. On Tuesday, the FDA lowered the age limit on the morning-after pill from 17 to 15 years old. This change in age was not in compliance with the judge's order, but rather a decision "independent" of the order and "not intended to address it." On the Obama Administration's decision to appeal the judge's decision, U.S. attorney Loretta Lynch wrote:
"The public properly relies upon FDA classification of drugs as non-prescription as a reflection of the agency's judgment regarding the safety and proper use of a drug without a doctor's prescription...The public interest will not be served by reclassification of drugs as non-prescription by order of a court, without appropriate agency decision-making procedures being followed."
Now that an appeal has been filed, both arguments will be reconsidered. The Department of Justice and the FDA will argue in hopes of keeping decisions about restrictions on drug classifications within the FDA without interference from the federal court system. Supporters of Judge Korman's order, however, will argue in favor of bringing decisions like this one before a judge. In either case, there will hopefully be a concrete ruling on if and when age limits will be placed on emergency contraception.