Plan B OK Has Political Ramifications

Letting Women Buy Pill Without Prescription May Save Bush's FDA Nominee

(CBS/AP) 
The FDA's long delay in deciding on Barr's application ensnared President Bush's nominee to head the regulatory agency. On Thursday, two female senators, Patty Murray of Washington and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, said they would lift their block on Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, making it likely he will win confirmation as FDA chief, perhaps next month.

"While we urge the FDA to revisit placing age restrictions on the sale of Plan B, it is real progress that millions of American women will now have increased access to emergency contraception," Murray and Clinton, said in a joint statement.

In recent weeks, anti-abortion groups, angered that approval was imminent, had urged Bush to withdraw von Eschenbach's nomination. Mr. Bush said Monday he supported the doctor's decisions.

Barr hopes to begin nonprescription sales of Plan B by the end of the year. The pills will be sold only from behind the counter at pharmacies, but not at convenience stores or gas stations. Pharmacists will check photo identification.

There isn't enough scientific evidence that young teens can safely use Plan B without a doctor's supervision, von Eschenbach said in a memo. Over-the-counter use is safe for older teens and adults, the acting FDA commissioner added in explaining the age cutoff.

"This approach should help ensure safe and effective use of the product," wrote von Eschenbach.

Politically this was defeat for conservatives. Three years ago, FDA scientists called Plan B safe but complained that religious pressure was blocking the drug's approval, Andrews reports.

Barr and others were disappointed that FDA imposed the age restriction. Bruce L. Downey, Barr's chairman, pledged to continue working with the agency to try to eliminate it.

The age restriction remains controversial even inside FDA, agency drugs chief Dr. Steven Galson told The Associated Press. Galson has acknowledged overruling his staff scientists, who concluded in 2004 that nonprescription sales would be safe for all ages.

"Let me be frank, there still are disagreements," Galson said in an interview. "There were disagreements from the first second this application came in the house."

The Center for Reproductive Rights said a lawsuit filed last year to do away with all age restrictions would continue.

As a condition of approval, Barr agreed to use anonymous shoppers and other methods to check whether pharmacists are enforcing the age restriction.

"I'm sure the FDA will follow through on that and make sure these important conditions are established and enforced," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Barr hasn't said if it will raise the price of the pills, which now cost $25 to $40 in prescription form.

Planned Parenthood, the largest dispenser of the pills, expects some insurers to continue covering prescription sales. Whether that would be cheaper will depend on a woman's insurance.

Nine states — Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Washington and Vermont — already allow certain pharmacies to sell Plan B without a doctor's prescription to women of any age.

[phishfan86]

I think that maybe you all need to stop and think-the sale of this drug doesn`t cause unprotected ***- it is a safeguard if a condom breaks or you messed up your pills and didn`t realize it before. It is highly unlikely that someone who just chooses to go out and have *** whenever would go seek out this pill after since its just as easy to get a perscription for birth control which would have avoided the problem to begin with. Oh and since we are all getting down on church morals and such I`m sure you all know that it isn`t your place to condem anyone-that is God`s place if you beleive in church which would make the fact that you feel the need to say all of this garbage first of all completely hypocritical and secondly completly WRONG-If your using faith as way to judge then you have no faith

[sb19761]

That's very christian of you gossimer.

Get help.

[gossimer]

I stand by my earlier comment. If you choose to engage in an activity that you KNOW has the potentual to CREATE A LIFE, without protection to prevent it from happening in the first place, then you choose to DESTROY THAT LIFE, you are a murderer - plain and simple!

If you choose to engage in UNPROTECTED *** and risk contracting or spreading any disease, including AIDS, it's your OWN F'IN' FAULT for being so F'IN' STUPID!

But, hey, thanks for cleaning out the gene pool for the rest of us!

[liberalkelly]

the comments on this issue are just proving the point that this is a nation of people who stick their noses where they DON'T BELONG. the only thing the release of this pill will do is to give women another tool with which to control their OWN bodies. it is amazing to me that this is even the subject of litigation or arguement. my uteris is none of your business. it's funny to me that you are so quick to judge the morals of others when i am sure you are no saint. besides, i am sure the stigma of a woman having *** will always remain so, what are you worried about? you want another way to control women, their bodies- their minds. i say no and apparently, so does the FDA.

[sb19761]

Anyone against plan B, you need help.

You get yourselves so worked up and passionate about everyone's s.e.x. lives that it's disturbing beyond belief. You should really hear yourselves talk! For real! If it's not your private parts (or of your own children), shut the feck up - or kill yourselves!

Everytime I hear people like you talk, I feel like I need to take a shower. You're so passionate about people procreating and how they make love (and the positions they do it, at that!), that it wouldn't shock me if you listen through people's bedrooms with a stethoscope - just like so-called christians do to other people.

And you call label people unlike you as "nasty". Whatever. Look in the mirror.

[sb19761]

gossimer - you and those "christians" like you are nothing but total perverts.

You say *** is for pregnancy only - LOL! - and then you say those who boink and not get pregnant deserve to catch a deadly STD. That's very christian of you.

What I find quite disturbing - especially with you neo-con's and catholics is the fact that you're all perverts - trying to control everyone's coochie and ***. Your *** lives are so boring and dull that you have to worry yourselves to death about what everyone else is doing in their bedroom - procreating or not.

And that's real sweet - encouraging people to do anal ***. Gossimer, you're a world class pervert. Just like all so-called christians and catholics. Die!

[apdepetris]

All they have to do it pop a pill now - it's called birth control. I hate when people say that drugs like this or teaching kids about birth control increases promisuity. Teenagers are going to have *** if they want to regardless if you teach them about birth control, etc. or not. The point is to educate our children to try and help them make the right decisions and to protect them and keep them safe when they make the wrong ones. I remember a true story I saw on TV once about a young girl that became pregnant. She was afraid to tell her parents. She wanted to get an abortion but because of her age she would have to have parental conscent before she could have the abortion. Well, she ended up having a secret back-alley abortion. Because of the unsafe and unclean conditions of the abortion she developed an infection and died. I don't have an issue with the age restriction - I think young girls need guidance. The problem is most of them aren't going to want to tell their parents.

Trying to keep birth control and these kinds of drugs away from kids isn't going to stop them from having ***. You're just going to end up with kids with sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

[pat8722]

It's about killing a human being, and a fertilized egg that a woman won't allow to implant, is killing a human being. If conception occurs one second before a woman takes this drug (and sometimes it does), the woman is killing a human being when she takes this drug.

[gossimer]

I'm all for freedom of choice, however, what about the unborn children that have NO choice?

If people wish to have "unprotected" ***, they should do so in a such a way as to AVOID getting pregnant, either orally or up their bum! If that is not to their liking and safe *** is not to their liking, then they plain and simply should NOT be having *** in the first place! Because otherwise the whole PURPOSE of *** between a man and a woman IS TO GET PREGNANT!!!

Also, if people wish to engage in "unprotected" ***, I don't feel one *** bit sorry for them if they contract a potentually deadly disease, that's the choice they made. Better to eliminate them from the gene pool and be done with it! After all, if they choose to terminate an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy which they KNEW full well was a possibility when they had ***, they deserve to have the same fate happen to them.

[tonnie45]

Who gave these people the right to play God?

[heardenuff]

oh yeah and....

"it is not about "allowing" promiscuity to triumph because the largest barrier to that is and will always be conscience"

wrong I do believe the largest barrier to that is peer pressure, and now that there is any easy alternative, it will be EASIER to pressure....

as well:

"those that wanted to keep plan b under lock and key were those who wanted to keep women under lock and key"

NO - those were the people trying to keep this pill from YOUR childs hands....

but - oh wait, YOUR child would never do that right?? and who really cares about the little girl next door anyway...

this should at very best be a "controlled" substance distributed to persons who have "shown" the ability to "consciously" make that decision, not just any little girl...

[heardenuff]

YEAH and all the little promiscuous girls with no
conscience's will be happy too - hooray... (cause I see so much "conscience" whenever I pick my kids up at school)


NOT to mention all those "bad" men/guys trying so desperately to hold you back, now they can just screw all they want and just tell em to "pop a little pill" afterwards and everything will be ok dokey.....

you know it's sad... that's all I have to say, when our society has reached this point where it's ok to make a drug like this available to our children.... (last time I checked "most" children don't make the best decisions)

but whatever - hooray...... (for womens rights)
yipee for the new "easy" NOT life changing decision we just put into the hands of our very
"conscience" minded level headed children...

[liberalkelly]

i have followed this struggle from the beginning and this feels like a huge victory for women. it is not about "allowing" promiscuity to triumph because the largest barrier to that is and will always be conscience. this will only aid women in being sexually independent and that is something we should have owned a long time ago. those that wanted to keep plan b under lock and key were those who wanted to keep women under lock and key. (namely, your conservative government)
i am no fan of hilary clinton but she has really helped us all with this newest contribution.

[heardenuff]

yeah right only the problem doesn't lie in the "educated" women only in the young girls these "educated" women just made this easy out available to...

sad day for our species....... now it will be no problem for any kid to have *** cause all they gotta do now is just "pop a pill"...........