Feminist Wire Daily

Yeah, it's exactly what the subject line says: A male veterinarian has been appointed Director of Womens Health to replace Susan Wood, who resigned over the FDA’s refusal to grant over-the-counter status to emergency contraception.

I thought this attitude towards women had been overlayed with a thin veneer of civility somewhere back around, say, 1200 c.e. But apparently not.

quote:

---

Wood resigned late last month in protest over the FDA’s refusal to grant over-the-counter status to emergency contraception.

---

quote:

---

brebis noire: Well, technically the FDA controls drugs and medications for livestock and pets as well as humans, so it's not totally off the wall as a choice. Also, the 'food' part of the FDA has a link with agriculture and whatever passes for food safety in the U.S.

---

Lester Crawford has demonstrated his "credentials' as a corporate lackey at the FDA. Planned Parenthood in the USA has already pointed out:

quote:

---

Criticisms lodged against Crawford are legion — among them, an ineffective response to last winter's shortage of flu vaccines, a relationship with drug companies that's been referred to as "cozy," and the fact that he is the first nominee for the position since 1981 who is not a physician (he has a doctorate in veterinary medicine and in pharmacology).

---

Who is Lester Crawford?

This is a good example of extremist right-wing ideology trumping good science. It's a kind of Stalinism of the right.

Never mind that the availability of over-the-counter emergency contraception could reduce some of the 1.7 million unintended pregnancies or 800,000 abortions in the United States yearly. These zealots seem to want all these unintended pregnancies and abortions so they can rail about them .... and do nothing to reduce the numbers. What a misogynist and evil government.

quote:

---

Emergency contraception pills contain hormones that reduce the risk of pregnancy if started within 120 hours of unprotected intercourse. The sooner EC is administered after unprotected intercourse, the better it works, making timely access critically important. Studies show that women do not rely on emergency contraception as a regular method of birth control. Research also indicates that widespread availability of EC could prevent 1.7 million unintended pregnancies and 800,000 abortions each year in the U.S. (from Planned Parenthood)

---

[ 17 September 2005: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]