When it comes to politics, scientists can't win in
Washington.
"Intelligent design" gets a boost over evolution from the White House. Global
warming can't find traction, and stem-cell work is beyond the pale.
Joining the
caveman club is the Food and Drug Administration. It's too scared to accept its
own findings on the efficacy of a morning-after contraceptive pill.
Commissioner Lester Crawford could have set a new
standard by allowing the drug to be sold without a prescription to women over
17. Instead he waffled, kicking a decision down the road several months.
His lame
reasoning was a bureaucracy-generated worry about finding the right age-cutoff
for selling the drug. Never mind that seven states including
California have
already authorized the sale of the so-called Plan B drug, fed up with
interminable federal delays.
What's
spooked the FDA is the notion of an abortion pill, which opponents have thrown
into the debate. But what Plan B does is prevent conception and the problems
that an unsought pregnancy can bring. Opponents might as well oppose condoms,
too.
Does anyone
want to ask scientists their opinion? An advisory panel urged approval of the
drug. Plan B isn't harmful and should be available, it said. That's sensible
advice, not dilatory politics, that the FDA should
heed.
