A FEDERAL JUDGE HAS ORDERED the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act within 30 days to make emergency contraceptives available over the counter to adolescents without a prescription. The ruling applies to levonorgestrel-based products that are currently available without prescription to women aged 17 years or older. The drugs help prevent pregnancy if taken within 3 days of unprotected intercourse. But use of emergency contraceptives has been controversial, and their path to over-the-counter status has been marked by unprecedented moves by the FDA and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In the April 4 ruling, US District Judge Edward R. Korman noted that in the 12 years that have passed since a citizen petition was filed to make the products available over the counter, "the FDA has engaged in intolerable delays."
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机译：联邦法官已下令美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）在30天内采取行动，向未开处方的青少年提供紧急避孕药。该裁定适用于基于左炔诺孕酮的产品，这些产品目前无需处方即可提供给17岁或以上的女性。如果在无保护的性交后3天内服用该药物，则有助于预防怀孕。但是使用紧急避孕药一直是有争议的，FDA和美国卫生与公众服务部（HHS）采取了前所未有的举动，标志着它们使用非处方药的途径。在4月4日的裁决中，美国地方法院法官爱德华·科曼（Edward R. Korman）指出，自从向公民提出可在柜台购买产品的请愿书以来的12年中，“ FDA进行了无法忍受的延误。”
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