Sales Rocket for Morning-After Pill

Sales of the morning-after pill have zoomed since it became available over the counter last year, but conservative activists are still lobbying to block it from pharmacy shelves. The federal Food and Drug Administration ruled in 2006 that the pill, marketed under the name Plan B, be made available without a prescription to customers 18 and older .

Manufacturer Barr Pharmaceuticals projects a record $80 billion in pill sales for 2007, nearly double last year. Several states have enacted laws improving access to the pills in hospitals for rape victims, and Congress has introduced legislation ensuring availability abroad for the armed forces. A coalition of conservative groups has filed a lawsuit in federal court to reverse the FDA decision. (More Plan B stories.)