Let us pray over this news. Forgive us Lord.
Federal Judge Edward Korman of the District Court of Eastern New York ordered Friday the emergency contraception pill Plan B be made available to all women of reproductive age, even without a prescription.
That’s a reversal of a decision by the Obama administration’s Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. In 2011, she issued a requirement that girls younger than 17 need a doctor’s order for the drug.
Her critics argued her decision was politically-driven and that the labeling change was a must considering the rate of unprotected sex and teen pregnancy. Those who supported Sebeluis maintained that easier access to contraceptives could lead to more unprotected sex and abortions.
Judge Korman said that her ruling was made in “bad faith and improper political influence,” writing in his reversal decision, “it is hardly clear that the Secretary had the power to issue the order, and if she did have that authority, her decision was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”
Friday’s ruling by Korman comes after reproductive rights groups sued to remove the age restriction.
