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 The Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that it will make a brand of emergency contraception known as Plan B One-Step available over the counter for women ages 15 and older, and with a prescription for younger teens. The pill is currently available over the counter to women ages 17 and older. 
 
 "Research has shown that access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States," said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg in a statement. "The data reviewed by the agency demonstrated that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease." 
 
 The decision by the FDA only partially complies with a ruling handed down by a federal judge in early April, which instructed the FDA to lift all age restrictions on Plan B and make it available to everyone on pharmacy shelves. A panel of scientists at the FDA had recommended in 2011 that age restrictions be lifted on the morning-after pill, but Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius overruled that recommendation, arguing that there was a lack of evidence showing that those under the age of 17 would use the pill appropriately. 
 
 By dropping the age limit to 15 instead of removing the limit entirely, the FDA has ensured that all women will still have to show an ID to the cashier in order to purchase the emergency contraception. 
 
 Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called the FDA's decision a "step in the right direction." 
 
 "This decision is a step in the right direction for increased access to a product that is a safe and effective method of preventing unintended pregnancies," Murray said in a statement. "It's also a decision that moves us closer to these critical availability decisions being based on science, not politics. Plan B is an essential part of a woman's basic health care and I will continue to push for more information from FDA and HHS on the practical application of this policy while also working to ensure that access is based on science, safety, and efficacy." 
 
 The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit against Sebelius and the FDA that led to the judge's ruling in April, said on Tuesday that it is not satisfied with the FDA's decision. 
 
 "The FDA is under a federal court order that makes it crystal clear that emergency contraception must be made available over the counter without restriction to women of all ages by next Monday," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the center. 
 
 "Lowering the age restriction to 15 for over-the-counter access to Plan B One-Step may reduce delays for some young women -- but it does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification or after the pharmacy gates have been closed for the night or weekend," she added. 
 
 "These are daunting and sometimes insurmountable hoops women are forced to jump through in time-sensitive circumstances, and we will continue our battle in court to remove these arbitrary restrictions on emergency contraception for all women," Northup said. 
 
 This story has been updated with comments from Sen. Patty Murray and the Center for Reproductive Rights. ||||| Policy-ish 
 
 Feds Cave On Emergency Contraception Age Restrictions 
 
 Enlarge image i AP AP 
 
 The Obama administration has gone to Plan C on Plan B. 
 
 Backed into a legal corner, the Justice Department said Monday it would drop its appeal of Judge Edward Korman's ruling last April that it make the morning-after birth control pill available over the counter with no age restrictions. 
 
 As Heard On Morning Edition Linda Wertheimer talks with Julie Rovner about the adminstration's capitulation on Plan B. Feds Buckle On Emergency Contraception Age Restrictions 3 min 23 sec 
 
 The action came five days after an appeals court refused to delay part of the judge's order while the appeal was being heard, effectively ordering some products, but not others, to be made available immediately. 
 
 With few other avenues of appeal, the Justice Department said it would instead obey the original order, sort of. 
 
 What the administration is now proposing is to have the makers of the most popular emergency contraceptive product – Plan B One Step – submit a new label allowing it to be sold over the counter without age restrictions. According to the letter the Justice Department sent to Judge Korman, when that application is received, "FDA will approve it without delay." 
 
 The letter warns, however, that the makers of Plan B One Step could be granted "marketing exclusivity," which presumably means a waiting period before generic copies could join the product on pharmacy and retail shelves. 
 
 And in a reversal of the situation that would have been created last week by the appeals court, the FDA says it "will not at this time take steps to change the approval status of the two-pill Plan B or its generic equivalents." According to the government, "there are fewer data available regarding the actual use of Plan B" meaning the use of the two-pill product "as a nonprescription product by younger adolescents," compared to the one-pill product. 
 
 That means the two-pill products will remain prescription-only and behind the pharmacy counter for those younger than 17. 
 
 Still, advocates of easier access to the drugs were pleased by the administration's action. 
 
 "This decision by the Administration affirms what feminists have been fighting for all along – the Morning-After Pill should be available to females of all ages, on the shelf at any convenience store, just like aspirin or condoms," said Annie Tummino, the lead plaintiff in the long-running lawsuit. 
 
 Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had been pressuring the FDA to approve the pill for non-prescription sale for most of the last decade, said: "After far too long of a delay, science has prevailed."
– The Plan B morning-after pill is moving over the counter. The FDA announced today that the emergency contraceptive will be available without a prescription to those ages 15 and older. The pill also no longer needs to be behind pharmacy counters. Instead, it can sit on drugstore shelves just like condoms, but buyers will have to prove their age at the cash register. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled there should be no age restrictions and gave the FDA 30 days to act. The FDA said that its latest decision was independent of the court case, and that Justice Department lawyers were still considering their response to the ruling. "Research has shown that access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States," says FDA chief Margaret Hamburg. "The data reviewed by the agency demonstrated that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease." Click for more.