Finally Good Enough

As I reported previously, the Obama’s policy on emergency contraceptives (Plan B) has until now been not good enough.  However, at last, the policy is finally “good enough.”

This week the Obama administration decided to allow emergency contraceptives to be made available to girls and women of all ages without prescription – as originally recommended by the FDA in 2011 and then blocked by the Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius.  U.S. District Judge Edward Korman on April 5, 2013 ruled that the FDA must make the emergency contraceptive available without a prescription to women of all ages within 30 days. The judge refused to stay his order pending appeal.  The Obama administration tried to have the appeals court block Judge Korman’s order but the appeals court did not comply (at least with regard to the two-pill formulation of Plan B). 

So finally the Obama administration has given in and agreed to comply with Judge Korman’s original order.

Late? Yes. 

As a result of a court order? Yes. 

But finally “Good Enough”?  Yes indeed.


Postscript

6/12/2013 It has come to my attention since I posted the above content last night that in fact the Obama administration is proposing to approve only the single-pill Plan B One-Step for non-prescription access to women of all ages but not so for the less expensive two-pill formulation.  This may have the effect of limiting access to girls and poor women. So perhaps the Obama administration policy is still not quite "good enough."  We will see what Judge Korman has to say on the matter.