The announcement came a day after the Food and Drug Administration said that one well-known morning-after pill, Plan B One-Step, would be made available without a prescription for girls as young as 15 — instead of only to girls ages 17 and over, as has been the case.
The Justice Department's action will not affect that F.D.A. decision. Rather, the department is seeking to overturn a much broader order by the judge that removed restrictions for all ages and for generic versions of the pill, not just Plan B One-Step. The order, issued on April 5 by Judge Edward R. Korman of United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, gave the F.D.A. 30 days to comply.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department also asked Judge Korman to stay his order pending the results of the appeal.
In his ruling, Judge Korman said the Obama administration had put politics before science in restricting access to the drug. The Justice Department's decision to appeal was most likely based not only on the substance of that ruling, but also on the precedent it would set in countermanding an order by a White House cabinet member, Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services.
In 2011, Ms. Sebelius decided that the pill should be available without a prescription only to girls and women 17 and older, despite the Food and Drug Administration's finding that it was safe and effective and should be available without any age restrictions. Ms. Sebelius said the pill had not been studied for safety in girls as young as 11. It was the first time a cabinet secretary had publicly overruled the F.D.A.
