The FDA’s handling of the emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B” has been one of the more ridiculous examples of the Bush administration caving to the demands of the far right — and not being able to explain why with a straight face.
Here’s the context. Nearly two years ago, an FDA advisory panel voted 23 to 4 to approve over-the-counter access to this emergency contraception pill. One FDA panel member called it the “safest drug that we have seen brought before us.” The scientific evidence was overwhelming and access to Plan B would curtail abortion and unwanted pregnancies. This was a no-brainer and, under normal circumstances, it’d be the end of the story.
Bush’s FDA managed to screw it up anyway. In August, after 28 months of work, the FDA indefinitely postponed its decision on Plan B availability. Considering the far-right’s opposition to the medication, this appeared another blatant example of the politicization of science. The move prompted two FDA officials to resign in protest.
To justify the delays, then-Commissioner Lester Crawford cited FDA concerns about selling the drug to younger teens as a reason to keep Plan B off shelves. Yesterday, we learned Crawford was lying.
Internal documents made public Thursday have raised new questions about the federal government’s continued refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B.”
The documents, obtained by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., show that in February 2004, policymakers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found no problem in allowing the so-called morning-after pill to be sold without a prescription to women of all ages.
Look, if the administration said, “We’re morally opposed to emergency contraception,” we could at least have a reasonable debate. If the administration said, “We could go for this, but the Dobson crowd would kill us,” we would at least be facing political realities.
Instead, the Bush gang insists on this tortured approach, in which they claim to base decisions like these on science, but ignore their own experts, hide embarrassing facts, and they lie about it. In the case of Plan B, the result is more unwanted pregnancies, and in all likelihood, more abortions.