Pro-Abortion Law Firm Files Suit Over FDA’s Delay on Morning After Pill

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 23, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Pro-Abortion Law Firm Files Suit Over FDA’s Delay on Morning After Pill Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 23, 2005

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) — A pro-abortion legal group filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration because it delayed a decision expected Friday on whether or not to approve the so-called morning after pill for over the counter sale nationwide.

The Center for Reproductive Rights said it file the suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit claims the federal agency failed to follow proper procedures in its review of the Plan B drug.

"The FDA is ignoring the medical and scientific facts. Emergency contraception meets all the criteria for over-the-counter availability for women of all ages," said Simon Heller, a lawyer for the group.

Heller’s group claims denying women over the counter access to the drug is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

"Half of the 3 million pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended each year. By denying women over-the-counter access to a safe and effective drug that would significantly reduce those numbers; including pregnancies that end in abortion; the FDA is acting unlawfully and ignoring its mandate to advance the public health," said Nancy Northup, the law firm’s president.

But Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America told Reuters she was glad the FDA was "taking a very hard look at this" because the drug does not reduce pregnancies or abortions as its makers and advocates claim.

Named in the lawsuit is Steven Galson, acting commissioner of the FDA who rejected the initial request by Barr Pharmaceuticals to sell the sometimes abortion drug over the counter.