Washington D.C., May 2, 2013 / 16:33 pm
The Obama administration filed an appeal notice Wednesday to challenge a judge's decision requiring that the morning-after pill be available without a prescription to girls of any age.
The Department of Justice is contesting the decision of U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman on the grounds that "the remedies that the judge ordered were beyond his authority," according to a Justice Department official who spoke to the New York Times anonymously.
The judge had ruled in April that the FDA must make the morning-after pill, Plan B One Step, available over-the-counter with no age restrictions.
While the FDA had initially recommended this policy change, it was overruled by Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in December 2011.