Plan B: The behind-the-counter over-the-counter pill?

Three and a half years after the original application to make the morning-after birth control pill (Plan-B) available without a prescription, the FDA continues to stall.

What set [The View co-host Elisabeth] Hasselbeck off [last week] was an announcement that the FDA planned to approve over the counter sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B, if the manufacturer, Duramed Research, Inc., a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, altered its application to limit the drug's availability to women 18 years and older. The agency also made the unprecedented move of requiring Duramed to come up with a plan to police pharmacies, assuring they comply with the restricted distribution plan.

What made the announcement even more bizarre was that it came one day before the Senate confirmation hearing for Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.