Washington D.C., May 6, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Citing a concern that young teenagers may not safely use the morning-after pill without a doctor's guidance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late yesterday officially rejected a plan to make the pill available over-the-counter.
In a written statement yesterday, the Family Research Council praised the FDA decision and urged the federal body to stand firm in its decision. Had the FDA decided to make the morning-after pill been available over-the-counter, young girls would have had easy access to the abortifacient drug, without first consulting a doctor.
"Women taking the birth-control pill consult with their doctors once a year for medical check-ups,” said council president Tony Perkins in the statement. “The morning-after pill is 50 times stronger, and yet over-the-counter access would have allowed women and girls to take this dangerous drug without any medical oversight.”
If the morning-after pill had been approved as over-the-counter medication, the decision to use it would have been “between young girls and a pharmacy counter, with no accountability or safeguards in place,” said the council. “We are glad the FDA saw it differently."