Erring on the Unsafe Side

Without so much as a whimper, it seems the Obama administration will acquiesce to a U.S. District Court ruling as an excuse to allow 17-year-olds to buy the morning-after pill without a prescription or their parents' consent. An official with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told reporters that an announcement on the subject was forthcoming but that the decision had been made to overturn the current policy, which dates back to the Bush administration. As we reported last month, Judge Edward Korman ordered FDA officials to make Plan B available over-the-counter to minors as young as 17. As our own Chris Gacek points out, the Department of Justice should be called in to defend the FDA guidelines on Plan B. In this case, however, the Obama administration has decided to roll over and accept the court decision without a single appeal. Essentially, the President is allowing a lone federal district judge to make a scientific decision that affects the health and safety of women across America. For the young administration, it shows an incredible disinclination to fight for good policy. Considering the risks that Plan B poses to women and its unproven track record after repeated use, there seems to be no rational basis for the President's decision--except political ideology. Officials in the Bush administration understood the deep concerns over the morning-after pill and were not convinced by data that teens could use Plan B safely. After all, regular-dose birth control pills aren't sold without a doctor's supervision. There seems to be no such solicitude for young girls in Obama's FDA, which has proven more than content to put politics ahead of sound medical care.(frc.org)