Anyway, back to the Plan B issue:
Plan B decision made before data review: FDA staff
By Susan Heavey
Fri Aug 4, 1:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The decision whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should approve wider access to a morning-after contraceptive drug was made well before agency scientists finished their final review, two FDA officials said in court documents released on Thursday.
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Supporters of over-the-counter sales for Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills have accused top FDA officials of hindering the company's bid for nonprescription sales for years, to please conservative supporters of President George W. Bush's administration.
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In a sworn statement in June, Dr. John Jenkins, director of the FDA's Office of New Drugs, said he learned in early 2004 that then-FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan had decided against approval before the staff could complete their analysis.
Plan B was rejected in May 2004, shortly after McClellan left the agency.
"I think many of us were very concerned that there were policy or political issues that came to play in the decision," Jenkins said in a deposition for a suit by the Center for Reproductive Rights that seeks easier access to Plan B. Jenkins later said he did not know if anyone outside FDA influenced the decision.
Another FDA official, who evaluated Plan B, alluded to White House involvement in a deposition given last month.
Dr. Florence Houn said she was also told that in January by Deputy Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock that Plan B needed to be rejected "to appease the administration's constituents" but that it could be approved later.
Apparently, claiming to be a Christian means believing you can play God. For the FDA to prohibit over-the-counter sales of Plan B before it was done investigating it is incredible.
Almost. Given this pack of cowardly thugs, I have to say not much surprises me anymore.
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