Congressman Crowley Heralds FDA's Decision To Grant Over-The-Counter Access To Plan B Contraceptive

CONGRESSMAN CROWLEY HERALDS FDA'S DECISION TO GRANT OVER-THE-COUNTER ACCESS TO PLAN B CONTRACEPTIVE

New York, NY - In response to the Food and Drug Administration finally approving over-the-counter access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B for women over the age of 18, Chief Deputy Whip Joseph Crowley (D-Queens & the Bronx) issued the following statement in support of the decision.

Congressman Joseph Crowley stated, "It is truly remarkable that the Administration has stood up for sound public policy over politics by allowing the FDA to announce what has already been proven safe by hundreds of physicians, internal FDA reviews and countless medical journals.

"Over the last four years I have worked with my colleagues in Congress persuading the Food and Drug Administration to take the steps to make Plan B available over the counter for American women. The FDA's announcement today that Plan B will be available over the counter for women age 18 and over is good news in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

"While this is a critical step, we cannot think the fight is over for American women. There have been countless reports of pharmacies and pharmacists in New York City and throughout the United States that either refuse to fill Plan B prescriptions or do not know about the availability of emergency contraception, we need to make sure that local pharmacies are aware of this change in FDA rules."

http://crowley.house.gov/news/record.asp?id=874