It took 10 long years, but the battle to allow 17-year-olds to purchase the morning-after contraceptive known as Plan B is finally won. The FDA’s decision Wednesday to lift the Bush administration’s age restriction is not only good science but also smart policy.
Plan B does not end a pregnancy, so abortion is not the issue. It blocks pregnancy from occurring, much like other contraceptives. The difference is that it works 90 percent of the time if taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex.
Bush officials had many reasons for barring girls under age 18 from using Plan B — none of them valid. They argued that it would lead to promiscuity among women. It hasn’t. Nor has it led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. The fact is they just didn’t like the idea of Plan B.
Some 50,000 teenage girls in California have unwanted pregnancies every year, often ending their education and leading to poverty — or to abortion. Avoiding unwanted pregnancy is a desirable social goal, but the FDA has acted because Plan B is safe and effective, not because of ideology. It’s a relief to see that standard return.
