Widening Availability of Plan B Emergency Contraception

Since 2006, Plan B (levonorgestrel) emergency contraception (EC) has been available without prescription for women who are 18 or older. Now, the FDA has expanded over-the-counter “morning-after pill” access to include 17-year-olds. The FDA’s action is in response to a federal court order to lift prior government restrictions that limited Plan B access. The court concluded that the previous decisions to limit nonprescription Plan B access to women 18 years or older “were arbitrary and capricious because they were not the result of reasoned and good faith agency decision-making.”