WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday defended his health secretary’s decision to stop the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves.
“As the father of two daughters,” he said, “I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.”
The president spoke the morning after his administration stunned major doctors’ groups and women’s health advocates with the decision.
Plan B is a pill that can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after unprotected sex. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled scientists at the Food and Drug Administration who were preparing to let Plan B sell without a prescription to people of any age.
Obama said Sebelius made the decision on her own. The Associated Press
