NEW YORK — The Food and Drug Administration let politics cloud its judgment when it denied teenage girls over-the- counter access to the Plan B morning-after pill, a federal judge said Monday as he ordered the FDA to let 17-year- olds obtain the medication.
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman blasted the FDA’s handling of the issue during the Bush administration, saying it had “repeatedly and unreasonably” delayed issuing a decision on the medication, marketed by Barr Pharmaceuticals in Montvale, N.J., as Plan B.
Korman ordered the FDA to permit Barr, which was bought by Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries late last year, to make Plan B available to 17-year-olds without a prescription under the same conditions that Plan B is now available to women over age 18.
He said his order must be complied with within 30 days.
The FDA said it is reviewing the judge’s decision.
Women’s groups said it’s unlikely that the Obama administration would appeal.
Korman’s ruling said the FDA, in several instances, had delayed issuing a ruling for suspect reasons and on two occasions took action only to facilitate the confirmation of acting FDA commissioners whose confirmations had been held up by the repeated delays.
He said the FDA’s denial of nonprescription access without age restriction went against the recommendation of a panel of experts it had created to advise it on Plan B, which reduces the chance of pregnancy if taken within three days after sex.
