The One To Take the Lead
17 February 2008 8:00 am by Taylor Marsh
The One To Take the Lead
expert guest post by Susan
Wood, PhD.
Although stories about reproductive
health and politicization of science have made headlines recently, stories
of how these problems are solved are less often told. On August 31, 2005 I resigned
my position as Assistant Commissioner for Women’s Health at the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) because the agency was not allowed to make its decisions
based on the science or in the best interests of the public’s health. While
my resignation was widely covered by the media, it would have been a hollow
gesture were there not leaders in Congress who stepped in and demanded more
accountability from the FDA. Today, women are able to access emergency contraception,
a safe, second chance option for preventing unintended pregnancy in a timely
manner without a prescription. Senator Clinton is the leader that made this
happen, and I can tell the story from having watched it unfold.
I have been working to improve health care for women and families in America
for nearly 20 years. In 2000, I became the Director of Women’s Health for the
FDA. I was rather quietly doing my job when the debate began in 2003 over whether
or not emergency
contraception should be providedover-the-counter (OTC). As a scientist,
I knew the facts showed that this medication, which can be used after a rape
or other emergency situations, prevents an unwanted pregnancy. It does not cause
an abortion, but can help prevent the need for one. But it only works if used
within 72 hours and sooner is even better. Since it is completely safe, and
many women find it impossible to get a doctor’s appointment within two to three
days, making emergency contraception available to women without a prescription
was simply the right thing to do. As an FDA employee, I knew it should have
been a routine approval within the agency.
Plan B emergency
contraception is just like birth control pills – it is not the “abortion
pill,” RU-486,
and most people in the United States don’t think access to safe and effective
contraception is controversial. Sadly, in Congress and in the White House, there
are many people who do oppose birth control. And although this may surprise
you, this false “controversy” not only has affected emergency contraception,
but also caused the recent dramatic increase in the cost of birth control pills
on college campuses, and limited family
planning services across the country. The reality is that having more options
for contraception helps each of us make our own decisions in planning our families
and preventing unwanted pregnancies. This is something we can all agree on.
Meanwhile, inside the walls of the FDA in 2003-2004, the Bush administration
continued to throw road blocks at efforts to approve emergency contraception
over the counter. When this struggle became public, I was struck by the leadership
that Hillary Clinton displayed. She used the tools of a US Senator and fought
ardently to preserve the FDA’s independent scientific decision making authority.
Many other senators and congressmen agreed, but she was the one who took the
lead, saying she simply wanted the FDA to be able to make decisions based on
its public health mission and on the medical evidence.
When it became clear that FDA scientists would continue to be overruled for
non-scientific reasons, I resigned in protest in late 2005. I was interviewed
by news media for months and traveled around the country hoping that many would
stand up and demand that FDA do its job properly. But, although it can help,
all the media in the world can’t make Congress or a President do the right thing.
Senator Clinton made the difference. The FDA suddenly announced it would approve
emergency contraception for use without a prescription for women 18 and older
– one day before FDA officials were to face a determined Senator Clinton and
her colleague Senator Murray at a Senate hearing in 2006. No one was more surprised
than I was. I hope all of those who benefited fromthis decision know that it
wouldn’t have happened if it had not been for Hillary Clinton.
Sometimes these success stories get lost in the “horse-race stories”
about political campaigns and the exposes of taxpayer-funded bridges to nowhere,
and who said what to whom. This story of emergency contraception at the FDA
is just one story of many. Senator Clinton saw a problem that affected people’s
lives. She then stood up to the challenge, never wavered and worked to solve
it. The challenges we face in health care, our economy, global climate change,
and issues of war and peace, need a leader who has those skills and commitment.
This is my view.
