FDA indicates it may allow Plan B to go OTC

In what could mark a major breakthrough in the impasse over Plan B, the FDA has indicated that it may move ahead and make the controversial contraceptive available over-the-counter for women 18 and older. In a letter to Barr Pharmaceuticals, the agency asked what steps could be taken to ensure that underage girls don't obtain it and that a final decision was being sought in a matter of weeks. The morning-after pill has proved to be a major stumbling block at the FDA. A number of Democrats in Congress vowed to hold up the confirmation of acting FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach until the agency pushed ahead and allowed Plan B to go OTC, as recommended two years ago by an agency advisory board. The FDA has been severely criticized both internally and externally for allowing politics to trump science in its decision-making process. Religious conservatives, meanwhile, vowed to keep up the fight, maintaining that Plan B could only promote promiscuity among teens.

- here's the article on Plan B from the Los Angeles Times