FDA Makes Contraceptive Pill Available to Girls 15 and Older

Packaging for the Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." (undated photo)

U.S. officials have decided to make an emergency contraceptive pill available to women 15 years and older without a prescription.

The Food and Drug Administration ruled Tuesday that the Plan B One-Step be available to anyone who can show proof of age.

The FDA says studies show that women 15 and older are able to understand how Plan B works and how to use it properly.

But the Center for Reproductive Rights says it will continue fighting to make Plan B available to all girls of reproductive age.

Earlier this month, a New York judge overturned the Obama administration's ruling that girls younger than 17 get a prescription for Plan B. The judge called it "politically motivated" and "scientifically unjustified."