Plan B Lawsuit

Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager plans to sue the FDA for delaying approval of OTC sales of Plan B. According to Gov. Jim Doyle, who authorized the lawsuit:

The "FDA's postponements in making a decision is the result of politics, not science, and negatively impacts the health of women,"...

Commenting on Doyle's decision, Kelda Helen Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, had this to say:

"His authorization recognizes that women's health should be more important than the political gamesmanship of conservative ideologues,"...

Granted, the AG's stated motivation for the lawsuit is the extra cost the state could incur as a result of the approval delay. But looking at the big picture, one thing is clear: if the problem with the FDA's decision is that politics, as opposed to science, played the deciding role, using lawsuits to rectify the problem is not the way to go. Lawsuits are not part of the scientific method [yet! We can only hope for the day when politicians, lawyers, and assorted religious fundamentalists prevail, and we're finally able to practice medicine devoid of science.].

In my opinion this is like treating the symptoms without addressing the cause. A court of law (or, for that matter, the political arena) is not the appropriate venue to decide whether Plan B should, or shouldn't be available OTC. Alternatively, if you really must go the lawsuit way, I say do it the right way. Start making Plan B available OTC immediately, in defiance of the FDA's political ruling, and force the politicians who object to make a [scientifically sound] case against it.


(via NARAL)