Contact: Lindsay Randall, Concerned Women for America, 202-488-7000 ext. 105

WASHINGTON, July 31 /Christian Newswire/ -- Concerned Women for America (CWA) today sharply criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its sudden re-opening of the debate over whether to allow the morning-after pill (MAP) to be sold over-the-counter (OTC).  The FDA cannot find time to withdraw the dangerous abortion pill RU-486 from the market no matter how many women die after taking it, but now the rogue agency is willing to re-open debate over whether to remove medical care from the morning-after pill.  The prescription process protects women’s health; CWA wonders why the FDA consistently puts women second to politics in these matters.

“Any scheme based on who buys the drug is absolutely meaningless,” said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America. “Anyone, man or woman, over 18 could buy the drug and turn around – even in the store – and give it to a 13-year old.  Neither FDA nor Barr, the Plan B drugmaker, has the ability to penalize those that would sell or give the drug to a minor. No one can believe that the FDA or Barr could enforce a gender restriction on sales so that only women can buy it but men could not.”

“Worse yet, OTC access to the morning-after pill does not cut the number of pregnancies or abortions,” stated Miss Wright.  “Just the opposite.  In fact, Scotland made the morning-after pill non-prescription in 1999 and in 2005 the country reported its highest number of abortions since abortion was decriminalized in 1967.  Countries that make the morning-after pill easy to access show no drop in pregnancies or abortions, but they do experience skyrocketing rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STD).  Common sense and care for women – especially minor girls – requires medical oversight of this drug. The FDA needs to stop playing games with women’s lives.” 

Reportedly, Barr must provide details to the FDA on how its program will enforce the age restriction. “Yet, the FDA has worked with a drug company in the past to put restrictions on a reproductive drug, the abortion pill RU-486, that were promptly ignored once approved. Even in the face of flagrant violations, the FDA has not enforced the restrictions.  In this case, what penalty would be placed, who would be punished, and who would enforce violations of an age-restriction? It is a completely unworkable concept,” concluded Wright.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.