FDA has lost its way, says former official

[suffragette]

From http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/259193_wood11.html

Wood resigned from her post as the FDA's assistant commissioner for women's health and director of the office of women's health in August to protest the agency's delay in ruling whether emergency contraception, also referred to as the morning-after pill, should be sold over the counter.

~snip~

"The FDA seems to have lost its independence and lost its ability to make decisions based on scientific and medical evidence," Wood said in an interview. Over-the-counter access could cut down on the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions, Wood said.

~snip~

Despite the recommendation of an FDA advisory committee and the agency's own scientific staff that the pills should be sold over the counter to women ages 17 and older, the FDA decided in August to solicit public comment on the issue.

~snip~

In a report issued in November, the independent Government Accountability Office concluded that the FDA's handling of the morning-after pill's over-the-counter status was "unusual."

Yeah, "unusual" is right to say the least. Welcome to Neo-America, where medical and medicinal decisions are made by political and religious decision rather than on a scientific basis and where qualified civil servants are ignored at best and driven out at worst for not going along with the agenda.

[gizmo1979]

1. is there a dept.that

hasn't lost it's way in this administration.Pick one they are all in the dumper.Is there just one that can still function?

[suffragette]

4. Yes, this is systemic

They are decimating the departments, one after another to the detriment of us all.

[applegrove]

6. Private industry wants all the talented public servants shaken out

of the tree so that they only have to be regulated by low-hanging fruit.

Happening at the UN. WB. Happened at FEMA.

[suffragette]

7. Private industry and the administration

Private industry for the reasons you cited.
The administration so they can replace them with cronies and new hires who are easier to inflence and control.

[MountainLaurel]

2. And people wonder

Why more American kids aren't studying science.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. another win for the bushista gang.

Let's take the science out of science, and replace it with faith.

[rodeodance]

5. beyond 'unusual'--its politics at its lowest.

.....In a report issued in November, the independent Government Accountability Office concluded that the FDA's handling of the morning-after pill's over-the-counter status was "unusual."