Abstract

Plan B for Plan B

Looks at how the issue of emergency contraception is being handled by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Review of the 2003 application submitted by Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. to the FDA requesting that the emergency contraceptive known as the "morning-after pill" be made available to the public without a prescription and sold straight from drugstore shelves, like condoms; Discussion of how, twenty-seven months later, no decision has been made by the FDA; Review of the criticism received by the FDA over its handling of the issue from all sides of the political spectrum; Author's view that the present standoff is a testament to the influence of the Christian right over U.S. President George W. Bush's policies on women's reproductive health.