Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager asked for Gov. Jim Doyle's consent Thursday to bring suit against the Food and Drug Administration for what she claims is an unnecessary delay in approving a contraceptive pill, Plan B, as an over-the-counter drug.
If Lautenschlager attains Doyle's support and that of the Department of Health and Family Services, Wisconsin would be the first state to sue the FDA over this issue.
More famously dubbed the 'Morning-After Pill,' Plan B should be taken within 72 hours in order to be most effective.
When the FDA approved Plan B in 1999, the drug was made available by prescription only.
The FDA began reviewing this prescription-only policy in 2003 and, despite scientific evidence in favor of a non-prescription policy, has yet to make a decision.
'The citizens of Wisconsin who are being harmed by this politically-motivated delay deserve answers, and they deserve action,' Lautenschlager said in a statement.
Kelly Kennedy, a spokesperson for Lautenschlager, said the FDA typically takes action with more expediency and urgency then what has been displayed with Plan B.
The FDA claims it is concerned about teenagers' consumption of the drug, according to its website.
Supporters of Plan B claim that if this drug were more readily available, the number of abortions would be lowered.
Barbara Lyons, executive director of Wisconsin's Right to Life does not believe Plan B would lower the abortion rate.
'We don't think [Plan B] will prevent abortions, actually, because we think it promotes sexual activity,' Lyons said.
However, proponents of Plan B say that there is nothing shameful about obtaining emergency contraceptives.
Sky Halverson, program facilitator of Sex Out Loud, said taking Plan B does not mean one is promiscuous, but rather careful to prevent pregnancy.
Lyons said skeptics of making Plan B over-the-counter are concerned about giving teenagers overdose amounts of a drug that could be harmful. She said she believes the distribution of this drug should at least be given with medical supervision.
To obtain emergency contraception at UW-Madison, a student must call University Health Services and answer a series of brief questions. Depending on the answers given, a prescription can be issued over the phone, according to Jonathon Zarov, communications manager at University Health Services.
'We can only assume with a drug where timeliness is important that making it over-the-counter would make it more accessible and more people would use it,' he said.
