Plan B: access to emergency contraception in the legal and political cross hairs

On June 10, 2013, an eight-year debate over access to emergency contraceptives abruptly ended when the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York served notice that the federal government would withdraw its appeal and comply with the federal district court’s order to allow Plan B One-Step® to be sold over-the-counter without age or point-of-sale restrictions. In this Commentary, we review the litigation and regulatory history of this controversy. Using the Plan B One-Step® controversy as a backdrop, we trace threads of political influence in past FDA actions, and reflect on the position of the FDA as an executive agency caught between politics and science.