WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't look for the morning-after pill to move next to the condoms on drugstore shelves right away — but after a decade-plus fight, it appears it really will happen. Backed into a corner by a series of court rulings, the Obama administration has agreed to let the Plan B One-Step brand of emergency contraception sell over the counter to anyone of any age.
There still are a lot of details to be worked out, including whether a federal judge agrees that the government has gone far enough or whether cheaper generics can be sold without restrictions too.
But the move does mark a major societal shift in the long battle over women's reproductive rights, and influential doctors' groups welcomed the step Tuesday.
"Allowing unrestricted access to emergency contraception products is a historic step forward in protecting the health of our patients who are sexually active," said Dr. Thomas McInerny, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "The science has always been clear: Emergency contraception is a safe, effective tool to prevent unintended pregnancy in adolescents of any reproductive age."
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