The emergency contraceptive morning-after pill will soon be available over the counter for all girls 17 or older without a prescription after a federal judge ordered the Food and Drug Administration to lift controversial restrictions on its accessibility.

The UCSD Student Health Services pharmacy is not expecting any dramatic changes in response to the ruling for the pill, also known as Plan B.

“As far as Plan B, it probably won’t affect UCSD much since most of our student population is already 17 and older,” UCSD Director of Health Education Debbie Pino Saballett said.

Student Health Services, which already offers emergency contraceptives to students ages 17 and older, said it plans to offer it to all ages when the effects of the ruling take place, according to SHS Chief Pharmacist Danny Godinho.

The daily use oral contraceptive remains the most popular form of birth control, followed by female sterilization and condom use, respectively, according to a December 2012 report by the Center for Disease Control. Godinho said daily use oral birth control is also the most popular at UCSD.

Plan B was originally introduced in 1999 for adults by prescription. In 2006, it was available for adults without a prescription and for minors with a prescription.

The drug was said to have no known serious or long-term side effects, despite some mild short-term side effects, according to Senior U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman in his 59-page court order.

The ruling has come after nearly a decade of debate from pharmaceuticals, research institutions and women’s health advocates regarding the safety of its use. Others argue it has been shadowed by politics: The decision has highlighted growing criticisms of the federal agency and its alleged political motivations. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who has authority over the FDA, ordered the drug to be denied for minors in 2011 for fear that it would have adverse effects on girls of reproductive age as young as 11, if used improperly. Judge Korman ruled that misuse among 11-year-olds was likely miniscule and that safety was not the main issue of his decision. Korman’s decision puts the FDA’s authority back in check as to what over-the-counter drugs it can restrict.

The FDA has declined to comment on the issue.