By Terry Baynes
May 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on
Wednesday appealed a court order directing the agency to make
“morning-after” emergency contraception pills available without
a prescription to all girls of reproductive age.
Lawyers with the Justice Department filed the appeal with
the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, according to
court documents.
The appeal is the latest foray in the years-long legal
battle over the pill known as “Plan B,” a drug that has also
sparked political and religious clashes. If taken up to 120
hours after unprotected sex, it is designed to prevent
pregnancy. One version of the pill is made by a unit of Teva
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
The government is seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge
Edward Korman’s ruling from April 5 that required the FDA to
make the emergency contraception available over-the-counter to
women of all ages within 30 days.
The Justice Department has asked the district court to
temporarily stop its order from taking effect while the appeal
is pending, said FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson.
