By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer A U.S. District Court has ruled that 17 year old girls should have unrestricted access to Plan B, also known as “emergency contraception.” The ruling overrides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirement that minors obtain a prescription for the potentially dangerous drug. Under the pro-abortion Obama administration, the FDA is not expected to appeal the ruling. In Tummino v. Torti, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered the FDA to make Plan B available to 17 year olds under the same conditions that it is currently available to adult women, and to do so by April 21, 2009.   According to Americans United for Life, a non-profit public interest law firm, the court accepted as fact arguments made by abortion industry attorneys. As a result, the new ruling will not permit the FDA to undertake another internal review of the drug’s safety record or to receive evidence on the increased need to protect minors from dangerous medications and even sexual abuse. Denise Burke, AUL Vice President of Legal Affairs said, “Increasingly easy access to Plan B may have severe and unintended consequences such as the continued exploitation and sexual abuse of young girls. It is all too easy for this unsafe drug to be used by sexual predators and even the victims themselves to hide the abuse from parents and the authorities.” Plan B is a large dose of a powerful hormonal drug available only by prescription when used in smaller doses for contraception. It acts on a woman’s body in several ways, including to prevent fertilization and to interfere with the implantation of a fertilized egg. The drug also leads to an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy.  While proponents claim easy access to Plan B will cut down on unintended pregnancies, statistics do not support these assertions. In countries where it is available to girls over-the-counter, it has not reduced unintended pregnancy rates or abortions. “Given legitimate concerns about the safety of self-medicating with Plan B, it is incomprehensible that we would allow a minor to walk into any pharmacy and obtain this drug without medical oversight or parental involvement,” said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President & CEO of Americans United for Life. © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com