FDA Approves Over-The-Counter Sale of Contraceptive Pill

On Thursday, the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for being used without any age restriction or prescription. The approval, as per the findings, has ended legal and regulatory squabbling going on for more than 10 years over the controversial morning-after pill.

The FDA told that its decision was in compliance with an order given by the U. S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York. The George W. Bush and Obama administrations had been strongly, openly condemned by him for these imposed restrictions on the pill's sale for some political reasons.

Korman had given unwilling approval last week to the FDA's proposal, backed by the Department of Health and Human Services. They had proposed that Plan B One-Step should be approved for over-the-counter sales. However, the other versions of the drug should not be allowed for the same.
The Israel-based pharmaceutical firm Teva is the manufacturer of Plan B One-Step, the report found. The pill retails for some $60 a dose.

"Over-the-counter access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States", the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research's director, Dr. Janet Woodcock.