Actually you can. There are a few ways to withdrawal money from your IRA without penalty. One of the best ways for some people is Rule 72(t).
Rule 72(t) gives you the opportunity to take advantage of the money inside your IRA and other retirement savings accounts before age 59.5, without penalty. If you take any money out otherwise, you could pay up to a 10% penalty on the early withdrawal. Rule 72(t) requires that the IRA owner take at least 5 “substantially equal periodic payments.” The amounts you can withdrawal depends primarily on life expectancy calculations.
This is a great option for people who NEED to take money from their retirement accounts before the age of retirement. (This is something you need to discuss carefully with your investment and tax advisors.)
The drawback of taking 72(t) withdrawals is possibly depleting your IRAs early and you do have to include these in withdrawals in your tax calculations for the year in which you take them.
Talk to your advisor about Rule 72(t) and how it might benefit your situation.