New Developments in Efforts to Expand Emergency Contraception Access

By Rachel Walden — November 22, 2010

Earlier this year, we wrote about the Center for Reproductive Rights’s efforts to bring attention to young women’s continued lack of over-the-counter access to emergency contraception, despite a lack of evidence for the current age-based cutoff.

In March of 2009, a judge ordered the FDA to extend over-the-counter access to 17-year-olds, and also to reconsider these age restrictions in general. Last week, the Center filed a motion for civil contempt against the FDA arguing that the agency has failed to reconsider the age restrictions for women younger than 17.

The Center has background materials and more information at http://reproductiverights.org/en/feature/the-center-takes-the-fda-back-to-court. The group is encouraging supporters to contact the FDA asking the agency to “respect the findings of its own scientific review panel and take immediate action to end restrictions on emergency contraception.”

[In other we’re-still-waiting news, almost two years after the administration announced that they were going to review the controversial “conscience clause,” we still haven’t seen any action. As far as I know, the proposed public comment period never happened.]

Comments are closed.