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U.S. to Defend Age Limits on Morning-After Pill Sales U.S. to Defend Age Limits on Morning-After Pill Sales
(35 minutes later)
The Justice Department said on Wednesday that it would appeal a federal judge’s order to make the most common morning-after contraceptive available without a prescription for girls and women of all ages. The Obama administration said Wednesday that girls under 15 should not have access to the most common morning-after contraceptive pill as the Justice Department filed a notice to appeal a judge’s order that would make the drug available without a prescription for girls and women of all ages.
The appeal reaffirms an election-year decision by Mr. Obama’s administration to block the drug’s maker from selling it without consideration of age, and puts the White House back into the politically charged issue of access to emergency contraception.
In appealing the judge’s decision, the Justice Department is following the urging of dozens of conservative, anti-abortion groups who do not want contraceptives made available to young girls. But it is sure to draw the ire of some abortion rights advocates who say the drug is safe and should be made available to any girl or woman who wants it.
In December 2011, the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, blocked the sale of the drug to young girls, saying there was not enough data to prove it would be safe. Last month Judge Edward R. Korman of United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York criticized that decision as overtly political and ordered the administration to make the contraceptive widely available.
For Mr. Obama’s administration, the decision to appeal the judge’s ruling provides an opportunity to reaffirm a moderate position in the broader abortion debate that had drawn praise from conservative groups that are normally highly critical of the president.
When Ms. Sebelius originally denied the company’s request to distribute emergency contraceptives to all ages, the department said she was concerned there were not enough medical studies to indicate it would be safe for very young girls. A former health and human services official said the secretary was also personally uncomfortable with the idea of very young girls taking the drug.
But the original decision was also very good politics for Mr. Obama, who was at the time facing a difficult re-election battle. Mr. Obama enthusiastically supported Ms. Sebelius, saying that as a father of two young daughters he thought it was the right call to have made.
 
“The reason Kathleen made this decision is that she could not be confident that a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old going to a drugstore should be able — alongside bubble gum or batteries — be able to buy a medication that potentially, if not used properly, could have an adverse effect,” Mr. Obama said to reporters at the White House in December of 2011.
“And I think most parents would probably feel the same way,” he added.
The announcement came a day after the Food and Drug Administration said that one well-known morning-after pill, Plan B One-Step, would be made available without a prescription for girls as young as 15 — instead of only to girls ages 17 and over, as has been the case.The announcement came a day after the Food and Drug Administration said that one well-known morning-after pill, Plan B One-Step, would be made available without a prescription for girls as young as 15 — instead of only to girls ages 17 and over, as has been the case.
The Justice Department’s action will not affect that F.D.A. decision. Rather, the department is seeking to overturn a much broader order by the judge that removed restrictions for all ages and for generic versions of the pill, not just Plan B One-Step. The order, issued on April 5 by Judge Edward R. Korman of United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, gave the F.D.A. 30 days to comply. The decision also will make the drugs more accessible by putting them on the shelfs with other over-the-counter medications.
The Justice Department’s action will not affect that F.D.A. decision. Rather, the department is seeking to overturn a much broader order by the judge that removed restrictions for all ages and for generic versions of the pill, not just Plan B One-Step. The order, issued on April 5 by Judge Korman, gave the F.D.A. 30 days to comply.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department also asked Judge Korman to stay his order pending the results of the appeal.On Wednesday, the Justice Department also asked Judge Korman to stay his order pending the results of the appeal.
In his ruling, Judge Korman said the Obama administration had put politics before science in restricting access to the drug. The Justice Department’s decision to appeal was most likely based not only on the substance of that ruling, but also on the precedent it would set in countermanding an order by a White House cabinet member, Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services. In his ruling, Judge Korman said the Obama administration had put politics before science in restricting access to the drug. The Justice Department’s decision to appeal was most likely based not only on the substance of that ruling, but also on the precedent it would set in countermanding an order by a White House cabinet member, Ms. Sebelius.
In 2011, Ms. Sebelius decided that the pill should be available without a prescription only to girls and women 17 and older, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s finding that it was safe and effective and should be available without any age restrictions. Ms. Sebelius said the pill had not been studied for safety in girls as young as 11. It was the first time a cabinet secretary had publicly overruled the F.D.A. At the time, a decision to allow distribution of emergency contraceptives to very young girls might have sparked a firestorm of criticism from anti-abortion groups. And it might have made it more difficult for the president, politically, when it came to other battles over contraception, including an effort to require some religious institutions to provide contraception free of charge.
 At the same time, some abortion rights groups were dismayed by the department’s decision because it amounted to what they felt were unnecessary restrictions on contraception for teenagers. They also worried that the decision, which required that the drugs be distributed from behind the counter at pharmacies, would further restrict access.
By appealing the judge’s ruling, Mr. Obama’s Justice Department is essentially renewing the objections that Ms. Sebelius — backed by the president — had more than a year ago. In recent weeks, conservative groups had urged the Justice Department to  appeal the judge’s ruling so that the contraception would not be made available to very young girls.
Officials at the White House declined to comment on Wednesday, referring all calls to the Justice Department. A spokesman for Ms. Sebelius also referred questions to Justice, saying it was an “ongoing legal matter.”