While the FDA’s delays are at least keeping Plan B from being sold without a doctor’s prescription, American Life League must once again ask why use of this drug is permitted under any conditions. Plan B aborts children and hurts women. It should be pulled from the market altogether.
Plan B is a risky drug regimen that can take the life of a newly-conceived baby. The federal government should never sanction abortion in any form, whether the means of death are chemical or surgical. The FDA should use its additional 60-day comment period to analyze the facts, deny over-the-counter status and rescind all approval for its use.
Barr Laboratories – the drug’s distributor – wants the drug to be made available over the counter for anyone over the age of 16, and by prescription to any girl under 16. Such a decision would create a precedent in which merchants would be required to check the identification of girls attempting to buy Plan B in the same manner that merchants check identification for tobacco and alcohol sales. Such regulations would be extremely difficult to enforce, as any convenience store or neighborhood shop that sells aspirin would be able to sell Plan B over-the-counter.
The FDA should fulfill its duty of protecting the American public by removing this dangerous drug from the market at once. The current delay affords concerned citizens an excellent opportunity to have their voices heard. American Life League urges all who care about the safety of American women and babies to contact the FDA Commissioner, Lester M. Crawford, urging him to reject the request for over-the-counter status for Plan B and to pull this drug from the market immediately. You may contact Mr. Crawford at 301-827-2410 or
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Release issued: 29 Aug 05