April 29, 2009

FDA decision on Plan B for minors called contrary to common sense

WASHINGTON (CNS)—The Food and Drug Administration’s decision not to appeal a court decision that the morning-after pill marketed as Plan B should be available over the counter to minors “flies in the face of common sense,” said the U.S. bishops’ pro-life spokeswoman. “Wider access to Plan B could endanger the lives of newly conceived children, and will put minors at risk for unnecessary side effects, undermine parental rights and contribute to higher” rates of sexually transmitted diseases, said Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications at the bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, in an April 23 statement. The FDA announced April 22 that the Obama administration would not appeal a March 23 decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman making Plan B available to 17-year-olds without a prescription. A prescription had previously been required for anyone under 18. Korman, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, said the FDA had “repeatedly and unreasonably” delayed a decision on whether Plan B should be available over the counter and had been swayed by politics in ultimately deciding to make the drug available without a prescription only to those 18 or over.