A New York judge yesterday rejected the government’s bid to delay selling the Plan B morning-after pill to young teens.
In a sharply worded ruling that continued his hard line against the Obama administration, Brooklyn federal Judge Edward Korman denied an appeal of his order that the contraceptive be made available over the counter to all age groups — without restrictions.
Korman blasted the administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for contesting that April 5 decision, calling the move a “filibuster” that is “something out of an alternate reality.”
But the judge put his original ruling on hold until noon Monday so the government has time to appeal. He said he gave the delay as a courtesy to the appeals court.
“Indeed, in my view, the defendants’ appeal is frivolous and is taken for the purpose of delay,” Korman wrote. “If a stay is granted, it will allow the bad-faith, politically motivated decision of Secretary Sebelius, who lacks any medical or scientific expertise, to prevail — thus justifiably undermining the public’s confidence in the drug-approval process.”
In the ruling, Korman also accused the Food and Drug Administration of cooking up a “sweetheart deal” with Teva Pharmaceuticals, which makes Plan B One-Step.
The court battle over the morning-after pill — which sells for $40 to $50 and can cut chances of pregnancy by as much as 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse — has been raging since December 2011.
The FDA had been poised to make the pill available without a prescription to everyone when Sebelius stepped in and overruled the agency. She wanted girls under 17 to have access only with a doctor’s prescription, and President Obama supported her.
Korman ordered the FDA to lift all restrictions. Instead, the agency lowered the age limit to 15 and the Obama administration asked Korman to delay the mandate pending its appeal.
Korman said Sebelius “flagrantly violated” the FDA’s scientific expertise and ability to decide how to administer drugs.
The move to enforce an age limit, the judge wrote, “ignores the fact that the FDA found that the drug was safe and could be used properly without a doctor’s prescription and was prepared to make it available over the counter for all ages.”
“Judge Korman’s sound ruling simply orders the government to do what the experts at FDA have been trying to do for years: to put politics aside and let science guide us to a policy that makes emergency contraception readily accessible to all women,” said Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
A look at yesterday’s Plan B court ruling:
* The emergency “morning-after” pill will be available to all ages without ID or restrictions.
* The contraceptive will be sold on pharmacy shelves, next to condoms.
* The government has until noon Monday to file an appeal.