I still have a problem with the age restriction.

[novapsyche]

FDA Allows OTC Sales of Plan B

The Food and Drug Administration approved an application today making the long-debated emergency contraceptive Plan B, commonly known as the "morning-after pill," available without a prescription to women 18 and older.

The FDA said Barr Laboratories, the maker of Plan B, could begin selling the drug, but only at pharmacies and health clinics. Women purchasing the drug will have to show proof of age.

Many social conservatives in and out of Congress have battled to keep the drug from becoming available without a prescription. Some say that could encourage promiscuity, and others say use of the pill causes a very early abortion. Their position had for almost three years trumped an overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that the drug could be safety dispensed by a pharmacist without a prescription.

The approval came a year after former FDA commissioner Lester M. Crawford created a firestorm by ruling that the agency did not have the authority to approve a drug for over-the-counter use for women while requiring prescriptions for girls. But in recent weeks, President Bush and acting FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach signaled that they were willing to back off from that position and allow the drug to be available, as Barr -- and many women's health advocates -- have long advocated.