A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt sales of the only “morning-after” contraceptive pill available in the US without a prescription, Reuters reports. The suit was filed by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and anti-abortion groups against the FDA over its decision to allow non-prescription sales of the Plan B pill sold by Barr Pharmaceuticals. The pill, you may recall, can reduce the risk of pregnancy when taken within three days of intercourse.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion filed by the FDA and Barr motion to dismiss the suit, saying the plaintiffs had failed “to identify a single individual who has been harmed by Plan B’s OTC (over-the-counter) availability,” according to the ruling. The lawsuit claimed the drug was not proven safe without a prescription and sought to reverse the FDA decision and require a prescription for all Plan B sales. The AAPS hasn’t yet decided whether to appeal.

Backers of reproductive rights applauded the decision. “They still don’t have any evidence in terms of why they think it is harmful,” Janet Crepps, deputy director for domestic programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights, tells Reuters. “This is the right decision for women.” FDA spokeswoman Rita Chapelle says the agency was pleased with the dismissal of the suit. Barr spokeswoman Carol Cox called the lawsuit “meritless.”

Plan B was approved in 1999, and the FDA broadened the approval in 2006 to allow sale to adults without a prescription. The pills must be kept behind pharmacy counters and can be sold to girls under the age of 18 years only with a doctor’s order. Anti-abortion groups, including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, had joined the doctors’ group in trying to reverse the FDA decision. But the groups failed to prove their standing to sue, according to the ruling.

The Center for Reproductive Rights is also suing the FDA, but it is seeking the opposite course of action. In its lawsuit against the agency, it argues that restricting the drug for girls under 18 was based on politics and not science. The group is waiting for a judge in New York to rule on its summary judgment motion.

Plan B pills contain higher doses of progestin, a hormone used in prescription birth control pills for 35 years. Two pills cut the odds of pregnancy by nearly 90 percent when taken within three days of sexual intercourse.

Source: Reuters