contraception that helps prevent pregnancy after birth control failure or unprotected sex. reporter: the drug called plan b doesn t terminate pregnancy like ru-486, instead it s meant to prevent pregnancy by using a higher dosage of birth control taken within three days of unprotected sex and the emotional debate over access to the morning after pill or plan b stretches back almost a decade when the bush administration refused to allow women of any age to obtain it over the counter but in 2006, bush s fda eventually ordered plan b to be made readily available to women 18 years and older. shortly after obama took office it was lowered to 17 and older but that wasn t enough for the center for reproductive rights a group that argued for years the drug should be widely available to all women, so they pursued the case further and the fda agreed. in december, 2011, commissioner
film first hit theaters. our national lead, for some it s about time. for others it s an outrage. a federal judge in new york has ruled that every woman and girl regardless of her age should have access to the morning after pill. that s without a prescription. and in the case of minors without the consent of a parent. erin mcpike is here with more. this flies in the face of the obama administration s stance on emergency contraception. do you think this is the last word or will this fight continue? it probably will continue. white house spokesman jay carney said today the president still stands by age limits even though the judge today said this order is arbitrary and unreasonable. so the justice department said today it is looking into its options and likely will appeal this very quickly. plan b is emergency contraception that helps prevent pregnancy after birth control failure or unprotected sex.