With respect, your source for this statement???
August 25, 2006
F.D.A. Approves Broader Access to Next-Day Pill
By GARDINER HARRIS
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved over-the-counter sales of the morning-after contraceptive pill to women 18 and older, resolving one of the most contentious issues in the agency’s 100-year history.
Nationwide over-the-counter sales of the drug, Plan B, are expected to start by the end of the year. It will be sold in pharmacies and health clinics only, and buyers must show proof of age. Anyone under age 18 will still need a prescription. Men may also buy Plan B for a partner.
The prescription drug now sells for $25 to $40 per two-pill dose, but the manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals of Woodcliff Park, N.J., said the price could change.
The agency’s decision, which took three years and spanned the terms of three F.D.A. commissioners, did little to dampen what has became a central part of the nation’s debate on abortion. Abortion rights advocates argue that the wide availability of Plan B may reduce abortions; abortion opponents assert that Plan B will cause them.
Abortion rights advocates hailed the F.D.A.’s decision on Thursday, although many bemoaned the age restriction.
“We are pleased that a common sense, common ground agenda for reducing unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion finally won out,” said Kirsten Moore, president of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project in Washington.
Abortion opponents threatened political retribution, however, and were displeased when President Bush backed the agency’s decision.
“Let there be no mistake about it,” said the Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, an anti-abortion group based in Virginia. “Today’s decision lies at the feet of President Bush and has created a lasting rift with the Catholic faithful who comprise a large part of his support base.”
In a briefing on Monday, Mr. Bush was asked whether he supported the intention by Andrew C. von Eschenbach, acting commissioner of the F.D.A., to approve over-the-counter sales of Plan B.
“I support Andy’s decision,” he replied, a rare moment when a president addressed an application pending before the drug agency.
[remainder of article available at nytimes site]