April 13, 2005 -- Senate Committee Does Not Act on FDA Nominee

The Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee this morning abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting at which the committee was expected to approve the nomination of Lester Crawford to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The action followed announcement by two senators—Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA)—that they intend to put a hold on the Crawford nomination pending explanation of Crawford’s reasons for refusing to allow over-the-counter sale of the “morning after” contraceptive known as Plan B, after an advisory group had recommended such sale. Crawford, currently acting commissioner of the FDA, gave as his reason for denying over-the-counter status to Plan B that the method, which involves prompt use of a combination of regular birth control pills, would not be properly used by women in their teens. Critics of his action charged that it was politically motivated as part of the administration’s “abstinence only” approach to reproductive health. The Health Committee has not indicated when it may act on the Crawford nomination.