US justice department to appeal ruling on morning after pill
The US justice department has filed an appeal against the ruling of a Federal District Judge requiring age restrictions on the morning after pill to be removed.
Earlier this year, Judge Edward Korman ruled that the emergency contraception pill Plan B should be available over the counter to girls of all ages and without parental consent.
The ruling overturned an earlier decision by the Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, who imposed a requirement that girls younger than 17 must have a prescription to access the Plan B pill.
Exceeded
The justice department is arguing that Mr Korman exceeded his authority in passing the ruling last month, and has asked for the decision to be suspended while the appeal is underway.
In doing so, it has upheld the position taken by President Obama during his re-election campaign that emergency contraceptives should not be readily available without age restrictions.
"The court's order interferes with and thereby undermines the regulatory procedures governing FDA's drug approval process," the department said.
"A drug approval decision involves scientific judgments as to whether statutory and regulatory factors are met that warrant deference to those charged with the statutory responsibility to make those decisions.”
Penalised
Reproductive-rights groups have cricised the justice department's decision, saying that they would ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be held in contempt of court if it did not comply with Mr Korman’s ruling.
This week, the FDA lowered the age limit for access to the Plan B pill from 17 years to 15.
This means that girls aged 15 can now access the pill over the counter without the knowledge and consent of their parents.
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