The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt
Secretary
United States Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Leavitt:
We urge you to investigate reports that FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee Member, Dr. W. David Hager, was asked to write a memo to the Commissioner of the FDA about Plan B emergency contraception. According to reports published in the Washington Post, Dr. Hager was asked to write a ""minority report"" outlining why over-the-counter sales of Plan B should be rejected after an FDA Advisory panel voted overwhelming in favor of the switch.
If substantiated, these allegations seem to leave little doubt that the process for considering Barr Laboratories' application was subject to political interference. Who asked Dr. Hager to submit this memo? Was the fate of the Plan B application pre-determined by political forces? These unanswered questions loom large over the pending Plan B over-the-counter application, which continues to languish at the FDA.
We are deeply concerned that the FDA's decision-making process has been corrupted - to the detriment of women and the public health. The FDA should never let political considerations interfere with scientific decisions. These reports - combined with the FDA's failure to rule on the over-the-counter switch - erode the public's confidence in the FDA's ability to make decisions based on scientific evidence. We urge you to commence an investigation into the serious issues that this memo has raised and make your findings available to the public as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Advocates for Youth
American Civil Liberties Union
American Society for Emergency Contraception
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Campaign for Access to Emergency Contraception (Champaign, IL) Center for Reproductive Rights
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
Clara Bell Duvall Reproductive Freedom Project, ACLU of Pennsylvania DuPage County NOW (IL)
Family Planning Advocates of New York State
Feminist Majority Foundation
Gynuity Health Projects
Healthy Teen Network
Ibis Reproductive Health
Institute for Reproductive Health Access
Massachusetts EC Network
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Women's Law Center
New York Civil Liberties Union, Reproductive Rights Program
Pharmacy Access Partnership
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Planned Parenthood of New York City
Population Connection
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Tell them! (South Carolina)