BMJ  2005;331:532 (10 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7516.532-a

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FDA official resigns over emergency contraception decision

New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The assistant commissioner for women's health at the US Food and Drug Administration, Susan Wood, has resigned after the agency's announcement on 26 August 2005 that it was to postpone a decision on over the counter emergency contraception for teenagers ( BMJ 2005;330: 1466-7[Free Full Text], 25 Jun). This was despite the fact that it had promised US senators that it would decide by 1 September, and the drug had been approved by its own panels.

The FDA said that it could not see how emergency contraception could be made available over the counter to women of 17 or older while making it prescription only to younger women. It called for 60 days of public comment and said that it would decide some time later.

In a letter to colleagues, Dr Wood wrote, "I can no longer serve... when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended . . . [Full text of this article]

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