Sebelius overrules FDA, blocks access to morning-after pill
By Sam Baker - 12/07/11 12:49 PM ET
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday overruled federal drug regulators to block wider access to the controversial contraceptive known as Plan B.
In a decision critics said could only be explained by politics, Sebelius ruled that women younger than 17 will still need a prescription to get Plan B, which is sometimes called the morning-after pill.
Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration determined that Plan B should be made available over-the-counter without a prescription to women of all ages, according to a statement from FDA Commissioner
Margaret Hamburg. And Hamburg agreed with their decision. But Sebelius intervened to block over-the-counter access to minors.
Congressional Republicans had threatened a severe blowback if the FDA approved wider access to Plan B. Conservatives consider Plan B an abortion-causing drug and have led the charge to ban minors from getting the drug without parental consent, although those efforts have failed in the courts because they violate minors' privacy rights.
Allowing the regulators' decision to move forward also would likely have led to criticism of Obama from the GOP presidential field.
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/abortion/197825-sebelius-overrules-fda-blocks-access-to-plan-b