14 DAY TRIAL // On April 30, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the morning-after pill was to be made available without prescription to girls 15 and up.
Prior to the FDA's issuing this ruling, only women older than or at least 17 were allowed to buy the morning-after pill without their needing to have a prescription.
The morning-after pill now listed as an over-the-counter drug is Plan B One-Step. According to My Health News Daily, the pill is manufactured by Teva Women's Health.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved an amended application submitted by Teva Women’s Health, Inc. to market Plan B One-Step (active ingredient levonorgestrel) for use without a prescription by women 15 years of age and older,” reads the FDA's official press release concerning this decision.
When taken within 72 hours following unprotected intimate relations, Plan B can keep a woman from becoming pregnant.
Because of this rather short time span, several doctors have argued that it would be best to make it available over the counter to women of all ages.
Still, it appears that, for the time being at least, the FDA only agreed to settle for allowing women and girls ages 15 and over to purchase it without a prescription.
The FDA says that their decision to make Plan B One-Step an over-the-counter drug for women of said ages was the result of Teva Women's Health filing an application asking that this measure be taken.
“The approval of Plan B One-Step for use without a prescription by women 15 years of age and older is based on an actual use study and label comprehension data submitted by Teva showing that women age 15 and older understood that the product was not for routine use and would not protect them against sexually-transmitted diseases,” the agency explained.
Despite its now being available without a prescription, Plan B can only be purchased by women who can provide proof of age.