FDA Eases Limits on Morning-After Pill

Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, Wednesday, July 12, 2006 to announce a new fixed-dose once-a-day pill, called Atripla, for the treatment of HIV-positive patients. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)

On Thursday, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., said they would lift their roadblock to his full Senate confirmation.

"While we urge the FDA to revisit placing age restrictions on the sale of Plan B, it is real progress that millions of American women will now have increased access to emergency contraception," they said in a joint statement.

Proponents hailed the victory but had hoped for more.

"While I am glad that the drumbeat for a return to a science-based FDA has had some positive impact, this decision still represents a compromise, one that could have the unintended consequence of hurting young women's health," said Dr. Susan Wood, who resigned as FDA's women's health chief to protest the agency's 2005 delay.

But opponent Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said Plan B's wider availability could give women a false sense of security, since it isn't as effective as regular birth control. Wright also worries that adult men who have sex with minor girls could force the pills upon them.

The FDA said men 18 and older will be able to buy the pills without a prescription.

___

On the Net:

Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/

Plan B: http://www.go2planb.com/