Assault on Women's Rights Continues

The decision to offer the 'morning after' pill AKA 'Plan B,' a post-intercourse contraceptive, without a prescription has been scuttled by the FDA.

You can get a gun without a doctor's prescription, but not a medicine that the medical community has 'green-lighted' as safe enough for over-the counter distribution.

CBS Marketwatch has the goods:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Food and Drug Administration didn't follow its usual review process in deciding to reject over-the-counter sales of a morning-after pill, according to a report released Monday by congressional investigators.

While the agency followed its general procedures for considering Barr Laboratories Inc.'s application to approve its "Plan B" pill for over-the-counter sales, aspects of its review process were "unusual," the Government Accountability Office, which serves as Congress' investigative arm, said in its report.

FDA's scientific advisors in 2003 overwhelmingly urged approval of the OTC application. The agency typically follows the recommendations of its advisory panel. But FDA in May 2004 rejected the application, citing worries about use of the pill by young teens without a doctor's supervision.

Most of the reports concerning the rejection of Barr's application carry the above information in one form or another. Where the business press outdoes the MSM is in the following analysis:

Congressional critics have charged that FDA abandoned scientific principles in rejecting the OTC application, bowing instead to political pressure.

"We are deeply opposed to this subversion of science," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and 17 other lawmakers wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. The lawmakers, who requested the GAO audit, urged Leavitt to intervene in the reconsideration of the drug's status.

Some conservatives have asserted that Plan B, which helps block conception when taken within 72 hours of having unprotected sex, is akin to abortion. Others have asserted that allowing over-the-counter use would encourage risky sexual behavior among teens.

(more at link)

Another fine example of functional theocracy in action.

Can you imagine the outrage if erectile dysfunction drugs were outlawed? The same old white male farts that oppose 'Plan B' would be pounding the table to get their precious Viagra, Cialis, et al.