Pro-life official praises FDA denial on 'morning-after pill'

Published: 2004-05-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- "The voice of reason prevailed" in the Food and Drug Administration's May 6 decision to withhold permission for over-the-counter sales of the "morning-after pill" marketed as Plan B, according to the U.S. bishops' chief spokeswoman on pro-life issues. "A drug which can destroy human embryos and increases health risks to women and girls does not belong on the drugstore shelf," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, director of planning and information for the bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, in a May 7 statement. Plan B, marketed by Barr Pharmaceuticals in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., is designed to be taken within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse. It involves a large dose of progestin-only birth control pills, which are available only by prescription. Ruse noted in her statement that Plan B is "marketed and advertised as a 'contraceptive' but its own proponents admit that it works before and after conception." In its decision, the FDA left the door open for approval of over-the-counter sales of Plan B in the future.

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