"Democrats Block Nomination Over Morning-After Pill"
NYT, SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, April 7, 2005
President Bush's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration is being blocked from Senate confirmation by two Democrats who said Wednesday that they would hold up a vote until the agency settled the long-delayed question of whether an emergency contraceptive could be sold over the counter.
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The Democrats, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington, met with the nominee, Dr. Lester M. Crawford, on Wednesday to discuss what they regard as foot-dragging on the issue of the so-called morning-after pill. An expert panel of scientists recommended over-the-counter sales in December 2003, but the agency has yet to issue a final ruling.
"I'm prepared to hold it for as long as it takes to get a decision made," Mrs. Clinton said. She added, "From everything we're able to determine, the agency has substituted politics and ideology for science and facts."
Opponents of the pill, including religious conservatives, have said it will encourage sexual promiscuity. But in December 2003, two committees of expert advisers to the food and drug agency, meeting jointly, voted 23 to 4 to recommend over-the-counter sales. The agency typically follows the advice of its expert advisers, but the decision has been delayed on several occasions.