On August 24th, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its decision to allow Plan B, the emergency contraceptive (EC) manufactured by Barr Pharmaceuticals, to be sold without prescription (over-the-counter) to women age 18 and older who show proof of age. National women's organizations are calling this an "an incomplete victory" because it does not include young women aged 17 and younger. EC contains the same medication found in birth control pills, which have been used by millions of women for decades.

Activists had been pressuring the FDA to approve easier access to emergency contraception for years. The FDA ignored the fact that its own advisory committees had previously stated that EC meets all of the tests for an off-the-shelf (non-prescription) medication and should be available to all women in that manner. The FDA also disregarded studies that established that easy access to EC did not increase sexual activity in young women, and did not decrease the use of other forms of contraception. The National Organization for Women says that the Bush administration favors politics over science.

The availability of EC without a prescription at local drugstores could increase the ability of millions of adult women to prevent unplanned pregnancies. However, another group of women who have a great need to prevent unplanned pregnancies- those aged 17 and under- is denied access to EC. The placement "behind the counter" means that adult women could face lectures from cashiers or pharmacy clerks, and they could have to deal with the same kinds of refusals that women trying to fill prescriptions now risk. Those problems could delay access to EC, which is most effective when taken within 24 hours. Younger women can still be given prescriptions for EC, but pharmacists could refuse to fill them.

FDA Statement | Statement from the National Organization of Women | NARAL Pro-Choice America's statement