Chronology: The Morning-After Pill

Major events in the history of the morning-after pill:

--July 1999: Plan B is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for prescription use as an emergency contraceptive.

--April 2003: Women's Capital Corp. files an application with the FDA to make Plan B available without a prescription.

--October 2003: Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquires Plan B.

--December 2003: An FDA panel votes 23-4 to recommend Plan B be sold over the counter.

--May 2004: The FDA says Plan B "not approvable" for over-the-counter use, citing concerns about young teens using the drug.

--July 2004: Barr resubmits its application, proposing to restrict sales to older teens and women.

--April 2005: Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., announce they will block Lester Crawford's nomination as FDA commissioner until the agency issues a decision on Plan B.

--July 2005: Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt says the FDA will make a decision by Sept. 1. Clinton and Murray lift their hold on Crawford, who is later confirmed by the Senate.

--August 2005: The FDA delays action, saying it needs to write rules on how to enforce the proposed age restrictions.

--September 2005: Crawford resigns.

--October 2005: The Government Accountability Office calls the FDA's handing of Plan B "highly unusual."

--March 2006: Clinton and Murray block Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach's confirmation as FDA commissioner pending a Plan B decision.

--July 2006: The FDA says the new rules are not needed and invites Barr to amend its application to seek nonprescription sales to women 18 and older.

--August 2006: The FDA allows Plan B sales to women 18 and older without prescriptions.

Source: Food and Drug Administration, Reproductive Health Technologies Project, Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.