The politics of reproductive rights reached a turning point yesterday, when a federal court ruled that the FDA must make the morning-after pill available to 17-year-olds without a prescription, and to reconsider whether the drug, known as Plan B, should be available to all young women without a prescription.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in its 52-page ruling stated, "The FDA repeatedly and unreasonably delayed issuing a decision on Plan B for suspect reasons."

Despite scientific support for its distribution, the drug became mired in politics. In 2003 an FDA advisory panel recommended it be sold over the counter, but in 2004 the FDA refused to follow that recommendation. Pro-choice activists claimed right-wing pro-life politics were to blame, so they filed a lawsuit in 2005. In 2006 the FDA did make Plan B available to women 18 and over as an over-the-counter drug (prescriptions were required for anyone younger). But now this new ruling opens the door for access for more women.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, the group that filed the suit, hailed the ruling: "The court recognized that the FDA favored politics over science, ideology over women’s health and violated the law in the process."

The former head of the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, Susan Wood, who resigned to protest the FDA’s handling of Plan B, said she was "delighted" with the ruling. Pro-life groups, of course, are not so happy.

The FDA now has 30 days to make Plan B available to 17-year-olds, and to review the court’s opinion.