Block Bush's choice.

Byline: The Register-Guard

If the Food and Drug Administration, at the behest of the White House, continues to deny women nonprescription access to emergency contraception, here's the earliest the Senate should approve President Bush's nomination for FDA commissioner: when Hell freezes over.

More power to the two women senators who have put an indefinite hold on President Bush's nomination of Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach as the next FDA commissioner. Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington have invoked senatorial privilege to block von Eschenbach's nomination until the FDA makes its long-overdue decision on over-the-counter sales of the Plan B emergency contraceptive.

Clinton and Murray have every right to hold Bush's nomination hostage, just as social conservatives and anti-abortion activists have pulled political strings to hogtie Plan B's approval for going on three years. Clinton and Murray were double-crossed by someone high up in the political pecking order after they agreed to withdraw their opposition to the nomination of former FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford pending a decision on Plan B.

The two senators accepted the written assurance of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt that the FDA would act on Plan B by September 2005, only to learn later that they had been betrayed. The promised action turned out to be another indefinite delay in approving over-the-counter sales of a medication that's as safe as Tylenol. Shortly after Crawford announced the transparently bogus excuse for yet another stalling maneuver on Plan B, he abruptly resigned without explanation.

But Dr. Susan Wood, assistant FDA commissioner in charge of women's health, gave a very clear explanation for her subsequent resignation.

"I have spent the last 15 years working to ensure that science informs good health-policy decisions. I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled," Wood wrote to FDA staff.

There's more than a little poetic justice in the senators' decision to hold up von Eschenbach's nomination. The FDA badly needs a permanent commissioner, and von Eschenbach appears to be an excellent choice. He has been the agency's acting commissioner since Crawford flew the coop, and he's a respected surgeon who headed the National Cancer Institute for four years. Bottom line: Apart from the politics involved, there's no good reason to delay von Eschenbach's nomination.

So it is with Plan B, a drug that won overwhelming approval in 2004 for over-the-counter sales from the FDA's own scientists and an expert advisory panel. Taken as directed, Plan B is 89 percent effective at preventing pregnancy within 72 hours of intercourse and even more effective within 24 hours. Because it prevents unplanned pregnancies, Plan B plays a direct role in reducing abortions.

Bottom line: Except for the political ramifications, there's no good reason to delay nonprescription access to Plan B. Get rid of the politics and everybody wins.

Clinton and Murray were betrayed by the Bush administration the last time this issue surfaced. They should stand their ground until the FDA does the right thing and approves nonprescription sale of Plan B.