emergency contraceptives
lborkowski | May 1, 2013Yesterday, FDA announced that it has approved Teva Women's Health, Inc.'s application to market its Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive for women ages 15 and up. The press release notes that this application was pending before a federal judge ordered the agency to make Plan B available without any age restrictions; the 15-and-up change is "independent of that litigation and this decision is not intended to address the judge’s ruling."
(A quick refresher: In December 2011, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg's decision that Plan B should be available…
lborkowski | April 9, 2013Last week, Judge Edward Korman of the District Court of Eastern New York overturned the Obama administration's restrictions on the over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive Plan B to young women under age 17. This is good news for public health, and I hope it will be the end of a long and disturbing episode in the history of US contraceptives.
Emergency contraceptives like Plan B can dramatically reduce the risk of an unintended pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse, but their efficacy wanes the longer a woman has to wait to take the drug. Making Plan B…