The locked doors of the doctor's office were once a foreboding sight for women waiting for the morning-after pill.

Without a doctor's prescription, women who needed Plan B, a form of emergency contraception, sometimes had to wait a weekend for their physicians to return.

Now, the pill is shedding its required prescription and moving over the counter.

The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, announced Thursday that Plan B will become available over the counter without a prescription. It has taken three years for the FDA's ruling, which initially approved the morning-after pill to be sold with a prescription in 1999.

The pill, which will likely cost between $25 and $45, is expected to hit shelves by the end of this year, a representative for Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. said.

"The biggest thing to take away from this ruling is it gives access to women," said Sarah Scranton, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan. "The sooner it's taken, the more effective it is."

Obtaining the pill used to be a battle against the clock because the emergency contraception is most effective within 72 hours after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.

"There's definitely a demand for it," said Dennis Martell, the health education coordinator at Olin Health Center. "This should cut down on unwanted pregnancies."

On Monday, at least eight people came to Olin looking to purchase it, he said.

Between July 31, 2005, and Aug. 1, 2006, health officials at Olin wrote 340 prescriptions for Plan B. When it does appear over the counter in the next few months, Martell said Olin will sell it to students.

He said that he did not see any negatives with the morning-after pills becoming more available to women.

"There's very few side effects," Martell said.

The FDA's ruling has its critics, though.

Laura Majkowski and Teri Sabol, roommates at MSU who share a Roman Catholic background, questioned the FDA's decision.

Both women frowned on providing Plan B over the counter, but said they at least supported buyer age-restrictions.

Majkowski said she's seen teenagers growing up too fast with alcohol and premarital sex.

"Times change so quickly," the psychology junior said.

Majkowski said allowing teenagers to purchase Plan B over the counter might increase promiscuity among the age group.

Planned Parenthood also distributes the pills to 14,000 Michigan women each year, said Lori Lamerand, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance.

Right to Life of Michigan, a conservative group opposing abortion, does not take a stance on the issue of contraception, spokeswoman Pam Sherstad said.

The contraceptive does not work if a woman is already pregnant, Martell said. "It's not an abortion pill."

When the morning-after pills become more accessible, women 18 and older can purchase it over the counter.

The FDA will still require girls 17-years-old and younger to have a prescription for purchasing Plan B.

"It probably should be made available to all women," Martell added.

Sabol, who takes a pro-life stance, worried that Plan B could become as readily available as condoms.

Other MSU students say the FDA's plan to sell Plan B without a doctor's prescription is an important step.

Danielle Schwartz, an environmental and economic policy junior, said during one weekend when she needed emergency contraception, every medical facility in East Lansing was closed.

She ended up traveling to Sparrow Hospital for a doctor's prescription.

"I think it's a great idea (to sell the pill over the counter)," Schwartz said.