Letter from HHS Secretary Leavitt
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) today announced victory in their efforts to force the FDA to make a decision regarding the over-the-counter application of Plan B emergency contraceptives. The Senators issued the following statement on the news from Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt that the FDA will act on Plan B’s application by September 1, 2005:
“It is long past time that the American people had a decision on Plan B and the FDA has finally agreed to give women across the country what we have fought for from the beginning – a yes or no decision. After more than two years of waiting, American consumers and American women will finally get an answer.
While we continue to have concerns about the lack of leadership and independent decision-making that Dr. Crawford and the FDA have shown in this case, we have been clear all along that our hold on this nomination is about one thing only: the FDA’s failure to provide an answer on Plan B.
As we have now received a date for a decision on Plan B, we have agreed to release our hold on Dr. Crawford’s nomination.
We will continue to closely monitor the actions of the FDA to ensure that American patients receive access to safe and effective treatments in a timely manner.”
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