"It's a true victory for all women, especially young women, women without government-issued identification, and those who live in areas with limited pharmacy hours," stated Northup.
(Photo: waltarrrrr/flickr)
Apr 05, 2013
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make emergency contraception pills also known as "morning-after pills" over the counter and lift age restrictions.
Reuters reports:
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman said the FDA's rejection of requests to remove age restrictions to obtain the pill was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." [...]
In Friday's ruling, Korman blasted the agencies' justification for their decisions, calling it "an excuse to deprive the overwhelming majority of women of their rights to obtain contraceptives without unjustified and burdensome restrictions."
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which had filed suit against the FDA over its restrictions on morning-after pills, welcomed the decision.
"Today science has finally prevailed over politics," Nancy Northup, president and CEO for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. "This landmark court decision has struck a huge blow to the deep-seated discrimination that has for too long denied women access to a full range of safe and effective birth control methods.
"Women all over the country will no longer face arbitrary delays and barriers just to get emergency contraception. It's a true victory for all women, especially young women, women without government-issued identification, and those who live in areas with limited pharmacy hours," stated Northup.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make emergency contraception pills also known as "morning-after pills" over the counter and lift age restrictions.
Reuters reports:
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman said the FDA's rejection of requests to remove age restrictions to obtain the pill was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." [...]
In Friday's ruling, Korman blasted the agencies' justification for their decisions, calling it "an excuse to deprive the overwhelming majority of women of their rights to obtain contraceptives without unjustified and burdensome restrictions."
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which had filed suit against the FDA over its restrictions on morning-after pills, welcomed the decision.
"Today science has finally prevailed over politics," Nancy Northup, president and CEO for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. "This landmark court decision has struck a huge blow to the deep-seated discrimination that has for too long denied women access to a full range of safe and effective birth control methods.
"Women all over the country will no longer face arbitrary delays and barriers just to get emergency contraception. It's a true victory for all women, especially young women, women without government-issued identification, and those who live in areas with limited pharmacy hours," stated Northup.
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make emergency contraception pills also known as "morning-after pills" over the counter and lift age restrictions.
Reuters reports:
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman said the FDA's rejection of requests to remove age restrictions to obtain the pill was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." [...]
In Friday's ruling, Korman blasted the agencies' justification for their decisions, calling it "an excuse to deprive the overwhelming majority of women of their rights to obtain contraceptives without unjustified and burdensome restrictions."
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which had filed suit against the FDA over its restrictions on morning-after pills, welcomed the decision.
"Today science has finally prevailed over politics," Nancy Northup, president and CEO for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. "This landmark court decision has struck a huge blow to the deep-seated discrimination that has for too long denied women access to a full range of safe and effective birth control methods.
"Women all over the country will no longer face arbitrary delays and barriers just to get emergency contraception. It's a true victory for all women, especially young women, women without government-issued identification, and those who live in areas with limited pharmacy hours," stated Northup.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.