The emergency contraception more commonly known as the “morning after pill” can now be sold over the counter to women of all ages.  The Obama administration dropped its plan to appeal a court ruling requiring the pill to be made without restriction.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards hailed the decision. “This is a huge breakthrough for access to birth control and a historic moment for women’s health and equity. The FDA’s decision will make emergency contraception available on store shelves, just like condoms, and women of all ages will be able to get it quickly in order to prevent unintended pregnancy,” she said in a press release.

“It’s about time that the administration stopped opposing women having access to safe and effective birth control,” Annie Tummino, the lead plaintiff in the case and president of the National Women’s Liberation, said in email to the Associated Press.

But not everyone welcomed the change. Critics say it was more about politics than women’s health.  “We’re very concerned and disappointed at the same time because what we see here is the government caving to political pressure instead of putting first the health and safety of girls (and) parental rights,” said Anna Higgins, the director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council.

According to the Associated Press, the morning-after pill has a higher dose of the hormone progestin than regular birth control pills. It works by preventing or delaying ovulation or by interfering with the fertilization of an egg, according to WebMD, and can be taken up 72 hours after unprotected sex.

In the lawsuit against the FDA, the plaintiffs said the restrictions unfairly limited women’s’ access to the contraception. Until recently, those under the age of 17 had to have a prescription to obtain the pill.

The unrestricted access refers only to a one-pill version of the contraception.  According to Reuters, the FDA will lift the remaining age restrictions without delay after receiving an application from the manufacturer of Plan B One-Step.  In April, the FDA had further reduced the age restriction to age 15.

The morning after pill was first approved by the FDA in 1999.  According to the Associated Press, the biggest users of the pill are women in their early twenties.  Of those aged 20 to 24, 23 percent have used emergency contraception.  But only 14 percent of younger women–ages 15 to 19 have only used the pill. The cost for the pill ranges from 30 to 50 dollars.