The federal government said yesterday that it will allow the sale of the morning-after pill Plan B without a prescription to women as young as 17, a move that would make the contraceptive available to minors for the first time without a doctor’s order.
The Food and Drug Administration took the action to comply with a judge’s ruling last month holding that the agency’s 2006 decision to limit availability of the controversial contraceptive to women 18 and older was invalid and politically motivated.
In a statement posted on its Web site, the FDA said it had notified the company that makes Plan B that it will approve sales to 17-year-olds at the manufacturer’s request — a request a company spokeswoman said it will make.
The FDA’s decision was welcomed by women’s health and family planning advocates, who had challenged the agency’s original decision in federal court.
