Last week, the Obama Administration placed a block on the unrestricted sale of Plan B, a “morning after” pill contraceptive, to those under the age of 17, leaving fellow democrats and women’s rights groups furious and questioning the rationale of such a block.

Expressing their dismay over the controversial decision from the Obama Administration, 14 Democratic Senators composed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, suggesting that the decision should be based on science.

The Washington Post reports, this may be the first time the Department of Health and services has vetoed the Food and Drug Administration. 

Judge Edward Korman heard arguments today in Brooklyn over the federal restriction of the pill.  Korman is the same judge who ruled that 17-year old girls would be allowed to purchase the drug and, at the time, he accused the government of letting political considerations cloud the approval process.

Maybe 17 seems like an appropriate age to receive emergency contraceptives without permission, but who am I to decide this? Wait… Who is the federal government to decide this? If science allows for women under the age of 17 to take this emergency contraceptive without biological consequences, then why can’t women younger than 17 acquire it without restriction?  Are we still looking through a glass ceiling? So many questions, not enough answers.

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