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CWA Urges the FDA to Reject Political Pressure on the Morning-After Pill 1/7/2005 Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reject political pressure to permit over-the-counter distribution of the morning-after pill, or Plan B, saying that the drug poses harm to women’s health.
“A recent study showed that easy access to the morning-after pill has no impact on the pregnancy rate, as proponents claim,” said Wendy Wright, CWA’s senior policy director. “Also alarming is that studies indicate that easy access to the drug increases sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates. Furthermore, studies show that the abortion rate is unaffected, and in some cases has increased.”
Wright testified at the FDA Advisory Committee hearing in December 2003 when the morning-after pill was under review for over-the-counter status. The FDA refused to grant over-the-counter status due to insufficient data on the impact of easy access to the drug on adolescents.
Barr Laboratories filed a new application for the drug to be available to anyone over 16, but requiring under-16-year-olds to have a prescription.
“As we all know from alcohol and tobacco sales, the person who would buy the drug is not necessarily the person who would consume it. There would be no way to enforce this marketing scheme, and would put women and girls at risk of unscrupulous people who could slip the drug to them without their knowledge or consent,” Wright said.
The deadline for the FDA’s decision is Jan. 22, 2005.
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Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
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