Power

Obama Administration Files Another Appeal in Emergency Contraception Case

The administration will ask a federal appeals court to delay implementation of a rule lifting age and point-of-sale requirements so it can pursue more restrictions.

A bill that would make it a separate crime to kill or injure a fetus in crimes committed against a pregnant woman passed the Florida House Judiciary Committee on Monday, and now heads to a vote on the house floor. An hourglass and gavel via Shutterstock

On Monday the Obama administration filed an appeal of a ruling Friday denying their efforts to delay the sale of emergency contraception to anyone without a prescription and without age restrictions.

Last week U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman refused to delay the ruling following a hearing on the matter, blasting the administration for playing politics with emergency contraception access and comparing those efforts to voter suppression tactics. Friday’s order gave the administration until Monday to appeal. The court of appeals will now consider both whether implementation of the rule making emergency contraception should be delayed as well as whether the original ruling that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and HHS acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it overrode the Food and Drug Administration recommendations to make emergency contraception available over-the-counter and without a prescription.