FDA ducks decision on emergency contraceptive

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7517.596

BMJ 2005;331:596 (17 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7517.596

News

FDA ducks decision on emergency contraceptive

Janice Hopkins Tanne

New York

Janice Hopkins Tanne looks at why emergency contraception isproving so controversial in the United States, even though itis now available without prescription in nearly 40 countries

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

A furore has erupted in the United States after the announcementby Dr Lester Crawford, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), that he was going to postpone indefinitely a decisionto make emergency contraception available over the counter,even though two FDA committees have recommended such availability( BMJ 2005;331: 532[Free Full Text], 10 Sep).

An assistant commissioner at the FDA resigned over the issue,and 13 senators asked the independent Government AccountingOffice to accelerate the investigation of the FDA's actions,which the senators had requested in June 2004.

Major newspapers from coast to coast castigated the FDA; almostnone spoke in its support.

The consensus was that the FDA had abandoned science and wasknuckling under to political pressure from conservatives whooppose abortion and confuse emergency contraception with abortion.

Susan Wood resigned as assistant commissioner for women's healthand director of the FDA's . . . [Full text of this article]

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