The United States Justice Department has filed a request with a U.S. court of appeals to stay a court order from a federal judge that will force the Food and Drug Administration to take away all age limits from emergency contraception pills, according to the Associated Press.
Government attorneys say U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn "plainly overstepped (his) authority." They are fairly confident this appeal will end in their favor.
“If the status of these drugs is changed and later reversed, some women may mistakenly believe that they can obtain the drug without a prescription after they are no longer able to do so,” lawyers for the government wrote.
The FDA had asked Korman to stay his ruling but he denied the request Friday. He painted Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius’ actions as “politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent."
The case began when a group of reproductive rights groups sued the FDA and asked that the agency lift all age and point-of-sale restrictions on levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception—also known as the “morning after pill” and “Plan B.” On April 5, Korman ruled in their favor.
The ruling was scheduled to take effect on May 10 but Korman gave the government till today to file an appeal.
Earlier this month the FDA lowered the age limit that girls can purchase the “morning-after pill” without a prescription to 15-years old. It was previously 17-years old. The agency said the decision had nothing to do with the ruling but was made because new scientific evidence showed the pill was not harmful to 15-year old girls.
The drop in age limit proved to be insufficient for reproductive rights advocates. After the decision was made public Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said it "does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification or after the pharmacy gates have been closed for the night or weekend."
President Barack Obama has given Sebelius his full support going forward.
The drug is a product of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
