Don’t get fooled twice by FDA

Once again, the FDA is promising action on Plan B, the morning-after contraceptive that is now available only by prescription in most states.
The agency said Monday it wants to meet with the drug’s manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals, within a week to discuss how to make Plan B available over the counter to women 18 and older.
That’s a sensible move, but it’s also way overdue. Plan B was endorsed by the FDA’s own scientists and a panel of independent advisers in 2003, but a top FDA official sided with opponents who warned that young teenagers might engage in riskier sex if the pill was easily available.
The FDA has promised a decision on Plan B before. That was last summer, after Democrats put a hold on President Bush’s nominee to be FDA commissioner. After the hold was lifted, the agency announced its decision: We’ll decide some other time.
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Patty Murray say they won’t be fooled again. They’ve put another hold on Bush’s nomination of acting FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach. This time, they say, the blockade will stay until the FDA makes a final, yes-or-no decision. You can’t blame them for being skeptical.
Posted by Dave Knadler

8 Comments

  1. Handgun Way Bigger than Hank's
    Posted August 2, 2006 at 1:35 am | Permalink

    BUSH: As to the drug itself, I mentioned I was disappointed (it was approved). I hope the FDA took its time to make sure that American women will be safe who use this drug.

    MODERATOR: Vice President Gore?

    GORE: Well, Jim, the FDA took 12 years, and I do support that decision. They determined it was medically safe for the women who use that drug.

    http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000a.html

    *****

    Disingenuous bastard, “safe for women” means pandering to my right-wing base.

    BTW, google Bush and “illegal abortion” as in the one he arranged for his knocked up girlfriend.

    “Do as I SAY, not as I do.” Typical Republican.

  2. .morg
    Posted August 2, 2006 at 8:40 am | Permalink

    http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Republican_Sex_Scandals

    More moral Authority from the Republicans……Remember these are the people that spent eighty million of your tax dollars chasing after the clenis.

  3. Julie
    Posted August 2, 2006 at 9:11 am | Permalink

    So let’s see if I get this one.

    Instead of preventing conception (or the implantation of an embryo) for a woman who’s had unprotected sex we’d rather wait and see if she really is pregnant and thereby have her make the decision if abortion is right for her.

    If life truely begins at conception and abortion is murder – wouldn’t it be better to prevent the conception or implantation of the embryo?

    Geez – make it available over the counter but cost $30 so it’s cheaper to be on the pill or other contraceptive devices.

  4. HutchRes
    Posted August 2, 2006 at 11:45 am | Permalink

    The Morning-After Pill doesn’t necessarily stop a pregancy before contraception. The pill can either prevent the sperm from reaching the oocyte, prevent the oocyte from being released by the ovary, or prevent the fertilized oocyte from implanting in the uterine wall. Once you take the pill there is no way to determine when it takes it’s effect. You could take the Morning-After Pill and think that it is preventing contraception when in reality it is stopping an already-fertilized oocyte from implanting. It is more correctly termed an abortifacient rather than contraception.

  5. RD
    Posted August 2, 2006 at 12:01 pm | Permalink

    .morg,

    Here’s a link to go with yours. I don’t know if it lists the same people (the list is way too long for me to go through), but nice to have as a companion. It has pix! *grin*

    http://www.the7thfire.com/child_sexual_abuse/grand_old_pedophiles.htm

  6. Jed
    Posted August 3, 2006 at 1:09 pm | Permalink

    You all are missing the point here- this is not about the sake of a baby, it’s about a man’s right to produce offspring without the interference of the pill, plan B, tubal ligation or abortion. You women are abrogating what was once considered the inalienable right of a man to reproduce with whatever woman he chooses!

  7. Doug
    Posted August 3, 2006 at 3:55 pm | Permalink

    If life begins at conception and 70% of fertilized eggs fail to implant thereby resulting in miscarriage then it’s safe to say the vast majority of women are murderers. If the antis have their way our prisons will be filled with millions of women facing death row.

  8. Rage
    Posted August 4, 2006 at 12:44 pm | Permalink

    HGWBTH,

    Good post, but as to your nic:

    Imprudent statements notwithstanding, nobody’s going to shoot you or pay you a “visit,” but if either were actually seriously possible, your approach would be somewhat equivalent to a mooning a member of Cosa Nostra. Utterly pointless, childish, and pretty damned stupid.

    I see bravery as merely standing your ground, something I did even when face-to-face with the Insane Crips (not bragging, just a fact). I was respectful, and didn’t get in their faces.

    I would also note that e-mail comments can appear a wee bit more hard-edged than intended.

    Think about it. (Note: Comments are solely my own, and do not necessarily represent the purple chicken).