Policy & practice.(Practice Trends)

Another FDA Resignation

The Food and Drug Administration's delay in deciding whether to approve Plan B emergency contraception for sale over the counter has cost the agency another expert. Frank Davidoff, M.D., editor emeritus of the Annals of Internal Medicine, resigned his position as a consultant with FDA's Non prescription Drugs Advisory Committee in September. This comes after Susan F. Wood, Ph.D., the director of the FDA Office of Women's Health, also resigned in protest over agency actions on Plan B. In a letter to FDA, Dr. Davidoff said he was resigning from the committee because of the agency's move to postpone its decision on Plan B. "I can no longer associate myself with an organization that is capable of making such an important decision so flagrantly on the basis of political influence, rather than the scientific and clinical evidence," he said in the letter. He added that he plans to encourage other members of FDA advisory committees to resign as well. FDA released a statement thanking Dr. Davidoff for his work on the committee. "His decision to resign as a consultant is an unfortunate loss of expertise as we work toward solving the complex policy and regulatory issues related to Plan B," the FDA said.

Case Could Head to High Court

The court battle over the "Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003" may be headed to the Supreme Court. The U.S. solicitor general petitioned the court on Sept. 23 to review the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that struck down Gonzales v. Carhart, one of three challenges to the law, as unconstitutional. If the court accepts the case, it would likely be decided by next summer, according to the National Right to Life Committee. But abortion rights advocates, who have been successful so far in challenging the law, are opposing this move. In the meantime, there are two other related cases still pending in lower courts.

National Stem Cell Bank

WiCell Research Institute, a nonprofit organization headquartered at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will be home to a new national stem cell bank thanks to a $16.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The stem cell bank will consolidate many of the human embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federal funding in one place, reduce the costs that researchers have to pay for the cells, and maintain quality control, according to NIH. "This will optimize and standardize the techniques ...