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White House Overrules FDA on Plan B

HeadlineDec 08, 2011

The White House has overruled a Food and Drug Administration proposal to make emergency contraceptives available over the counter, including to young teenagers. The FDA had concluded it is safe to sell the Plan B One-Step pill without a prescription to women of all ages. But on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius publicly overruled the FDA, the first time ever that a health secretary has done so. The decision means young women below the age of 17 will still need a prescription in order to purchase Plan B. In a statement, the National Organization for Women called the decision “a stunning betrayal of women,” adding: “[We] call on the President to stop playing politics with the lives of women and girls. During the Bush years, women’s reproductive health was under constant attack. We don’t need more of the same from the Obama administration.”

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