In July 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Plan B®, the first progestinl-only emergency contraceptive pill as a prescription-only product.  On August 24th, 2006, in a major victory for women and women's health advocates, the FDA approved OTC access to Plan B emergency contraception for women 18 years and older.

RHTP continues to work to ensure that women of all ages have access to EC. On March 23rd, 2009, the Center for Reproductive Rights won a major victory for women's health when the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that the FDA politicized its decision in making Plan B available OTC by acting "arbitrarily" and "capriciously" in restricting the drug to women 18 and over. The judge ordered the FDA to reconsider and re-review its decision to impose age restrictions on access to Plan B, and act immediately to remove theexistingage restrictionforwomen 17 and over.  A final outcome is still pending.

During the summer of 2009, two new emergency contraceptive products were approved by the FDA: Next Choice™ and Plan B One-Step. Plan B One-Step is a single pill emergency contraceptive available OTC to consumers 17 and older and by prescription for women 16 years old and younger. Next Choice, a generic version of Plan B, is available OTC to consumers 17 and older and by prescription to women 16 years old and younger. Both Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are effective for up to 3 days (72 hours) after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.  Research shows continued, but declining levels of efficacy up to 120 hours for both these products. Levonorgestrel tablets, another generic version of Plan B was approved in December 2010.  Similar to Plan B One-Step and Next Choice, this product is available over-the-counter to consumers 17 and older.

Unfortunately, Plan B One-Step was once again embroiled in controversy with an unprecedented move by Secretary Sebelius of US Health and Human Services (HHS) when she decided to overrule the US Food and Drug Administration’s top scientists and leadership by rejecting an application to make Plan B One-Step®, a safe and effective emergency contraception product, available on the pharmacy shelves.