I Guess Abortions Just Got Easier

[kalm]

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a surprise twist to the decade-plus effort to ease access to morning-after pills, the government is lowering the age limit to 15 for one brand — Plan B One-Step — and will let it be sold over the counter.

Today, Plan B and its generic competition are sold behind pharmacy counters, and people must prove they're 17 or older to buy the emergency contraception without a prescription. A federal judge had ordered an end to those sales restrictions by next Monday.

But Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a different approach: Plan B could sit on drugstore shelves next to condoms, spermicides or other women's health products — but to make the purchase, buyers must prove they're 15 or older at the cash register....

If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists — and Korman, in his ruling — said has been discredited.

http://news.yahoo.com/fda-lowers-age-bu ... 53951.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DSUrocks07]

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a surprise twist to the decade-plus effort to ease access to morning-after pills, the government is lowering the age limit to 15 for one brand — Plan B One-Step — and will let it be sold over the counter.

Today, Plan B and its generic competition are sold behind pharmacy counters, and people must prove they're 17 or older to buy the emergency contraception without a prescription. A federal judge had ordered an end to those sales restrictions by next Monday.

But Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a different approach: Plan B could sit on drugstore shelves next to condoms, spermicides or other women's health products — but to make the purchase, buyers must prove they're 15 or older at the cash register....

If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists — and Korman, in his ruling — said has been discredited.

http://news.yahoo.com/fda-lowers-age-bu ... 53951.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Abortions =/= Plan B

[GannonFan]

Is the judge going to be alright with any age limit? I thought the rationale in the first ruling was that any age limit was a burden/restriction. I would imagine for any over the counter there could be an age limit (can my 9 year old son buy over the counter drugs without restriction? Serious question, I don't know - can he hoard Tylenol if he wants to and has the money?) but I'm not sure having an age restriction would pass the judge's muster.