"The US Food and Drug Administration today announced approval of Plan B, a contraceptive drug, as an over-the-counter option for women aged 18 and older. Plan B is often referred to as emergency contraception or the 'morning after pill'", a Foods and Drugs Administration statement said.
Plan B is two pills, each containing 0.75mg of the synthetic hormone
levonorgestrel and will be available by prescription for those under age 18.
The so-called morning-after pill contains a higher level of the hormone found in regular birth control pills, and works by stopping the release of an egg from the ovaries.
It is said to be effective in the first 72 hours after an unprotected sexual encounter.
"Today's action concludes an extensive process that included obtaining expert advice from a joint meeting of two FDA advisory committees and providing an opportunity for public comment on issues regarding the scientific and policy questions associated with the application to switch Plan B to OTC use," the FDA said.
"Duramed, a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, will make Plan B available with a rigorous labeling, packaging, education, distribution and monitoring program," the agency said.
President George W. Bush, who says he believes in premarital abstinence, indirectly approved of the decision.
"I believe that Plan B ought to be -- ought to require a prescription for minors. That's what I believe,” Mr Bush said.
But the anti-abortion lobby is displeased. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said: "I am greatly troubled that the FDA has sacrificed women's health in the name of politics."
"Sadly, our modern pop culture encourages women to treat their fertility like a disease, rather than the great gift that it is," argued Kimberly Zenarolla, executive vice-president of the National Pro-life Action Center.
In Canada, the drug is available over the counter to all while in France the government provides it free to minors, and pays for 65 percent of the cost for adults' use.