Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Plan B: Politics Before Science

Is anyone surprised that the Food and Drug Administration rejected an application for non-prescription sales of Plan B emergency contraception pills under less than above-the-board circumstances that reek of political interference?

Although the FDA's own advisory committee recommended acceptance of the Plan B application, the FDA rejected Barr Laboratories' application for over-the-counter sales in May 2004. A review of the process published yesterday by the Government Accountability Office suggests FDA officials discussed rejecting the application in December 2003, long before the advisory committee made its recommendations.

After all, who needs science when you have busybody religionists to placate?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Come on now, Greg! What has your precious science really done for humanity? Can you pray with it? No. Will it help you praise the name of the Father? Nope. Will it forgive you of your sins? Wrong again, Asimov. All that your science is good for is making iPods thinner and allowing gays to publicly hail Satan while wearing chrome pentagrams and black leather chaps. And I don't want that kind of crap taught in my rural and/or suburban public school system... well maybe the iPod getting thinner stuff. The only real victims here are the hot sexy coeds that will have to get a prescription filled before they can engage in their most uninhibited secret dorm fantasies. Who cares about that?

jennifer said...

Well, gee, Anonymous, I care, and so do millions of other non-co-eds who would like very much for people like you to stay the hell out of our private lives. Why should Plan B be available without a prescription? Perhaps because of pharmacists who refuse to dispense prescribed "morning after" pills even to rape victims. Because Plan B helps PREVENT unwanted pregnancy, and thus abortions, which is supposed to be the goal here, right? Most of all because it is no one's business.

And if you hate science so much, why not do us all a favor and forgo the internet for while?

Wait a minute. Is this a joke? I can't tell anymore! I think I've lived in Texas too long...

Anonymous said...

I believe Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous was being sarcastic.

Michael

Greg said...

Texas is a joke, and it's a lot easier to live here once you've internalized that.

Anonymous said...

Um, yes, it was kind of like a joke... but not that funny I guess. I like Plan B just fine, we all do. I just wish the FDA would take a stand on Plan 9 - Sure it seems like a great way to take over the Earth, but what happens when the remote gets jammed and you've got a Tor Johnson slowly lumbering after you? Did anyone consider that before it left clinical trials? - Jennings

Anonymous said...

I think Plan 9's viability was disproved many years ago, due to the continued absence of cardboard headstones. Plan 10 has similarly been ashcanned. It's time to move on to Plan 11.

Michael

jennifer said...

I'm a dumbass. Sorry! I just get all hot and bothered about this stuff.

As Emily Litella used to say, "Nevermind!"