Federal Judge Publicly Rebukes U.S. Department of Justice at Court Hearing
U.S.
District Court Judge Edward Korman publicly rebuked the
arguments from attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice at a federal court
hearing, likening the age restrictions and I.D. requirements for emergency
contraception to voter suppression and citing the disproportionately negative
impact of these arbitrary restrictions on young women, poor communities, and
women of color.
The hearing was held in response
to the Obama Administration’s request to stay Judge Korman’s April 5 order for the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration to make levonorgestrel-based emergency
contraception available without a prescription and without point-of-sale or age
restrictions within 30 days. The request to stay was formally denied on May 10, 2013, and the appeal to the
Second Circuit of the April 5 order was officially dismissed on July 23, 2013 after
Judge Korman approved the FDA’s proposal to allow Plan B One-Step to be sold
over-the-counter.