WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., made it clear Wednesday that Plan B politics could stymie the confirmation of a new Food and Drug Administration chief.
On the heels of Wednesday's announcement that acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach was the Bush administration's choice for the permanent job, Clinton issued a statement vowing to block the nomination until the agency makes a decision on whether emergency contraceptive Plan B can be sold without a prescription.
"The American people deserve an FDA that sets the gold standard in drug approval," she said in a statement.
"The FDA under this Administration has squandered that trust and the over the counter application of Plan B is a case in point. For more than two years, the FDA has dragged its feet on making a decision, putting ideology over science. It is past time for the FDA to stop dragging its heels and make a decision on Plan B," Clinton said.
The senator said she and fellow lawmakers would "place a hold on the nomination of Dr. von Eschenbach until the FDA issues a decision on Plan B, yes or no."
Meanwhile, the American Association for Cancer Research praised the choice of von Eschenbach as the next FDA commissioner.
"Dr. von Eschenbach brings enormous medical and administrative expertise and experience to this post," said Margaret Foti, chief executive officer of the AACR. "This background will be vitally important in his new challenging role of FDA commissioner," she said.
The group noted that von Eschenbach, a urologist by training, formerly directed the Genitourinary Cancer Center and the Prostate Cancer Research Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
