The Obama administration on Monday announced it would stop blocking over-the-counter access to the morning-after contraceptive pill for girls under the age of 17, the New York Times reports
.That means girls as young as 12 may be able to obtain the widely used Plan B One-Step pill without prescription or parental consent. But before girls can begin purchasing the pill, its maker, Teva Pharmaceuticals, has to formally apply for no age and sales restriction status.
The drug is engineered to stop pregnancy up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse.
The Justice Department lost a recent federal lawsuit brought by women’s reproductive rights groups in New York state, and has ordered the Food and Drug Administration okay morning after pills for nonprescription use.