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Suit Filed Challenging Distribution of Morning After Pill to Minors Over-the-Counter

BROOKLYN, New York, June 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Alliance Defense Fund attorneys together with a Mineola attorney filed a motion to intervene Thursday to challenge a federal court order requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow the abortifacient Plan B drug to be sold over the counter to minors. 

The FDA announced in April that it would not appeal a New York district judge's decision in favor of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which sued the federal agency for requiring 17-year-olds to get a prescription for Plan B.  The FDA was also asked to reconsider allowing girls of all ages free access to the pill.

The Center first sued the FDA in 2005 to force it to make Plan B available over the counter, and the agency agreed the following year to make it available without a prescription to adult women. 

The motion to intervene in Tummino v. Hamburg was filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The motion was filed on behalf of Concerned Women for America, the Christian Medical and Dental Association, and Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, who contend that the order disregards parental rights and the safety of minors.

"The life and health of women, especially minors, is more important than the political agenda of pro-abortion activist groups," said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. 

"Minors are least of all in a position to make an informed decision about the life or death of a child, or even about their own safety.  It is a lie that over-the-counter sales of this drug increase safety for women, including minors."

Bowman said the organizations seeking to intervene "represent thousands of medical personnel that will not only be affected by the court's order but believe strongly that it will result in both parents and doctors being left out of the loop in a child's care."

"The order allows minors to bypass being seen by a doctor who can check for sexually transmitted diseases and other potentially serious medical conditions," he explained.  "Our motion argues that the case should be dismissed because, under the law, the plaintiffs have not established sufficient reason that they can even ask for an order like this."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

FDA Caves, Makes Plan B Available to 17-Year-Olds without Prescription  http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042305.html

Judge Demands FDA Allow Abortifacient Morning After Pill for Minors 
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032405.html

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