Imagine if a pharmacutical company came up with an effective new drug that helped combat lung cancer. The FDA has determined that the drug is safe for general use, but will not authorize it for over-the-counter sales. Why? Because its availability might cause teenagers to smoke.

Sound far-fetched? It isn’t. Plan B, a “morning after” birth-control drug, was on the fast track to become an over-the-counter medication. A federal advisory panel (made up of independent experts) had already recommended the drug by an impressive 23 to 4 margin. Many on the FDA staff were also pushing to grant the drug over-the-counter status. But in an almost-unprecedented act, Dr. Steven Galson, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration’s center for drug evaluation and research, rejected the findings of his own advisory panels.

The main reason? Because the availability of such a drug might cause teenagers to have more unprotected sex. A medication that has been proven safe and effective is being held back because it might cause someone to do something that has nothing to do with the drug itself. What’s next—are we going to ban automobile sales because someone might drink and drive?

Of course not. What we have here is yet another example of personal morality trumping science. The religious right and pro-life groups have already weighed in with their approval of this measure, which is ironic considering that easy access to a morning-after contraceptive would likely reduce the amount of abortions. But abortion is only a part of the issue for the hardcore social conservatives; they dream of an idealized America where everyone practices abstinence and premarital sex doesn’t exist.

In countries such as England and Canada these medications are readily available. Pity that the morality of a few outraged persons will prevent us from doing the same.