FDA Nominee's Future Hinges on Pill
Lawmakers say approval of the agency's interim chief depends on his decision on the Plan B contraceptive's over-the-counter status.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Times Staff Writer
August 2, 2006
....Most Democrats and Republicans agree that the FDA needs a permanent commissioner to confront a host of pressing problems. They also agree that (Andrew) von Eschenbach's confirmation will depend on how he handles a single, symbolic issue: the long-delayed, politically charged decision on the morning-after pill, also known as Plan B.
Religious conservatives oppose allowing its sale without a prescription, which they say could encourage promiscuity and sexual exploitation of young girls. FDA medical reviewers and a panel of outside experts have recommended over-the-counter status regardless of age....
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The FDA's refusal to reach a final decision on Plan B has led several prominent doctors and academics to question whether the agency has compromised its scientific independence. From 1994 to 2004, the FDA approved 67 medications for sale without a prescription; Plan B was the only one that was denied approval.
"You are caught, unfortunately, in a situation that gives great pause to many of us because of what it means for the future of the FDA," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) told von Eschenbach...."Once we start to politicize the FDA, there is no stopping," she continued. "This is a slippery, dangerous slope we are on, Doctor, and we are looking to you to get a decision made."
Clinton and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have placed a hold on von Eschenbach's nomination, blocking a floor vote until the FDA makes a decision on Plan B....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pill2aug02,0,1270811.story?coll=la-home-nation