1115.org

When the FDA was considering allowing the morning-after contraceptive Plan B to be sold over-the-counter, it seemed that the drug would be a shoo-in for approval. After all, a federal advisory panel (made up of of independent experts) had widely approved the nonprescription sale of Plan B with a 23 to 4 margin, and it had long been proven as safe and effective.

All the science and expert opinion didn’t make a damn bit of difference though, as higher-ups in the FDA decided to unilaterally reject the advisory board’s findings, an act that is rarely (if ever) done. The rejection of Plan B, which was based not on science but on the unproven assertion that its availability would cause more teens to have sex, was so unusual that the Government Accountability Office decided to investigate the controversial decision. So what did they find out?

Well, they didn’t find out as much as they should have, since recently-resigned FDA head Lester Crawford has refused to cooperate with the investigators, and the GAO doesn’t have the authority to compel his testimony. Apparently Crawford doesn’t feel it necessary to explain his decisions to the very same public that his former agency is (supposedly) trying to protect, and that his tenure as FDA chief falls under some top-secret classification. Out of 23 prescription drugs that applied for over-the-counter status, Plan B was the only one rejected, and the only response from Crawford is silence? The arrogance is astounding.

But this isn’t surprising for an administration that sinks huge money into abstinence-only programs that don’t work, contributes to a condom shortage in AIDS-ravaged Africa and has proposed cutting funds that would go toward family planning and reproductive health care. The FDA has claimed previously that its decision regarding Plan B wasn’t based on any instructions from the White House or prodding from the religious right, but that statement is about as believable as Paris Hilton playing the lead role in The Diary of Anne Frank.

When the FDA rejects science to make decisions based on personal opinion and religious dogma, it’s pretty obvious something is very wrong with the system. And while the “life begins at conception” crowd would probably not see a difference, one has to wonder how many abortions could have been prevented altogether if women had easy access to the morning after pill. Priorities.