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Today, after years of foot-dragging, the FDA put politics aside and granted over-the-counter status to emergency contraception for women 18 and older
And here are the steps it took to happen:
*December 16, 2003: A joint hearing of the FDA Nonprescription Drugs and Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committees votes 23 to four to recommend that the FDA make Plan B emergency contraception available over the counter.
*May 6, 2004: The FDA notifies Barr Laboratories, which manufactures Plan B, that its application for over-the-counter status is denied, citing concerns about adolescent use.
*January 21, 2005: In a highly unusual move, the FDA misses its deadline to rule on the revised application. The agency indicates that review of the medication is expected to be completed in the near future but does not specify a date.
*July 15, 2005: Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) obtain agreement from the FDA to rule on Plan B status by September 1, 2005.
*August 26, 2005: The FDA announces yet another delay on issuing a decision on the application to make Plan B available over the counter.
*July 31, 2006: The FDA announces it will open discussions with Barr Laboratories to make Plan B available over the counter for women 18 and over. The FDA states it will not approve Plan B for over-the-counter sale to young women under 18.
*August 24, 2006: The FDA approves over-the-counter sale of Plan B to women 18 and over.
Now I know some of you may think, "Great. The Pro-Choice People are all excited. Their Pill got through." Well, yeah we are, but it also means less women who need to even think about abortions! I would rather this option than having to encourage a woman to have to choose becuase it is sooooo hard a choice to make. I love the fact they can choose, but this mean less women are out there fighting anti-choice people or pro-life people because they had no birth control at the time and may be this will become as unimportant as Erectile Disfuction and we will see commercials on TV for this product!
And here are the steps it took to happen:
*December 16, 2003: A joint hearing of the FDA Nonprescription Drugs and Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committees votes 23 to four to recommend that the FDA make Plan B emergency contraception available over the counter.
*May 6, 2004: The FDA notifies Barr Laboratories, which manufactures Plan B, that its application for over-the-counter status is denied, citing concerns about adolescent use.
*January 21, 2005: In a highly unusual move, the FDA misses its deadline to rule on the revised application. The agency indicates that review of the medication is expected to be completed in the near future but does not specify a date.
*July 15, 2005: Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) obtain agreement from the FDA to rule on Plan B status by September 1, 2005.
*August 26, 2005: The FDA announces yet another delay on issuing a decision on the application to make Plan B available over the counter.
*July 31, 2006: The FDA announces it will open discussions with Barr Laboratories to make Plan B available over the counter for women 18 and over. The FDA states it will not approve Plan B for over-the-counter sale to young women under 18.
*August 24, 2006: The FDA approves over-the-counter sale of Plan B to women 18 and over.
Now I know some of you may think, "Great. The Pro-Choice People are all excited. Their Pill got through." Well, yeah we are, but it also means less women who need to even think about abortions! I would rather this option than having to encourage a woman to have to choose becuase it is sooooo hard a choice to make. I love the fact they can choose, but this mean less women are out there fighting anti-choice people or pro-life people because they had no birth control at the time and may be this will become as unimportant as Erectile Disfuction and we will see commercials on TV for this product!
