FDA Nominee Refuses To Set Deadline for Decision On 'Morning-After' Pill

Washington, DC- Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, released the following statement after today's nomination hearing for Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach to be commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Von Eschenbach, who is currently serving as acting commissioner of the FDA, refused to provide a deadline for the agency to end its three-year delay on whether to make the Plan B® emergency contraceptive, often called the "morning-after" pill, available over the counter.

"Americans want the Bush administration's political appointees at the FDA to stop blocking a decision on whether to make Plan B® available over the counter. More than three years since Barr first submitted its application to make Plan B® over the counter, Dr. von Eschenbach is finally sending signals that he may consider allowing women greater access to this valuable form of birth control. Dr. von Eschenbach must prove that this action is genuine and not just a political ploy intended to pave the way for his confirmation. I am disturbed that Dr. von Eschenbach refused to establish a time line on when we could expect a decision on the revised application for over-the-counter status. Sound science must trump ideology, and Americans are grateful that Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Patty Murray are standing their ground and blocking his confirmation until a decision is made once and for all."

Over the past three years, NARAL Pro-Choice America members and activists have sent tens of thousands of messages to the FDA asking for a decision on Plan B®.

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032