Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - At last: Science over politics

Chicago Free Press Editorial - At last: Science over politics
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
April 24, 2009
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1541922,CST-EDT-edit24b.article


For years, Food and Drug Administration officials had concluded after extensive study that 17-year-old girls could use the morning-after pill safely without a prescription, which would lower the age limit by a year.

And for years, the Bush administration stalled on doing anything about it, with one excuse after another -- science be damned.

This week, science trumped politics when the Obama administration quietly reversed the Bush policy and abided by a federal judge's ruling. The easier access for 17-year-old girls will likely have no impact on the rate of teenage pregnancies or abortions, if the past is any indication.

But it speaks volumes to the Obama administration's regard for science over politics, a dedication we hope is sustained throughout his administration.

In a decision last month, U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman ruled that the FDA "repeatedly and unreasonably delayed issuing a decision" on lowering the age limit on the morning-after pill and only agreed to move the regulatory process along on two occasions when the confirmations of two different FDA commissioners were held up in the Senate because of those delays.

The Bush-era FDA said it wanted to keep the age restriction to 18 because pharmacists would have trouble enforcing the restriction if it was dropped to 17.

The judge rightly noted that the FDA claim "lacks all credibility."

Score one for science and the public's health.