Judge Korman rips opposition to Plan B order
A federal judge, asked by the government on Tuesday to freeze his plan giving teenage girls broader access to morning-after birth control, instead seized the chance to accuse health officials of taking steps that would end up hurting poor people and improve their chances of prevailing in a protracted legal fight with reproductive rights advocates.
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman took aim at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s announcement last week that it was loosening restrictions on the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill, saying it can be sold without a prescription to those 15 and older. Previously, those sales were limited to teenagers who were at least 17.
The move came just before the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would appeal an order by Kormanrequiring drugstores to sell both Plan B and cheaper generic alternatives to women of any age.