May 8th, 2013
On Tuesday, District Court Judge Edward Korman spoke incredibly strongly against the Obama administration’s decision to appeal his order that would require the Food and Drug Administration to use science to determine whether over the counter access to emergency contraception is safe for women of all ages. Read More
May 2nd, 2013
The targeting of specific government grants has become old hat in Washington DC, an easy way to score cheap political points. Targets have included fruit fly research in Paris, studies of duck genitalia, and research involving shrimp on a treadmill, but in all cases, further investigation has shown that the seemingly odd projects have direct ties to real-world applications. These skirmishes have now escalated into power grabs that serve to undermine entire fields of research. Read More
May 1st, 2013
I feel like Charlie Brown.
A few weeks ago, I celebrated as a federal judge ordered the FDA to follow the medical evidence and make the emergency contraception known as “Plan B” available over the counter without restrictions. Under both President Obama and his predecessor, the decision had been thoroughly politicized. I thought that the judge’s ruling would provide the Obama administration with political cover. Surely they would respect the decision. Read More
April 5th, 2013
Chalk up a win for science. Federal Judge Edward Korman today ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make “Plan B” emergency contraception available to women of all ages without a prescription, calling efforts to stop the FDA from doing so “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”
A federal judge has accomplished what two administrations failed to do: make a decision about access to a drug based on medical evidence. It’s just common sense for the government to make drug approval and access decisions solely based on the best available science, not on hunches or political calculations. The decision brings a decade of politics trumping science to an end. Read More
January 15th, 2013
Since I last wrote about the need to end federal restrictions on gun violence research, the chorus calling for such a move has become larger and significantly louder. Read More
January 8th, 2013
Slate.com is using crowdsourcing to tally the deaths from gun violence since the December 14 Newtown shooting. It’s an interesting approach, and makes clear that people are hungry for data about this issue. To reduce gun violence in the United States, we need good scientific research that points us in the right direction. But as I outlined today in an opinion piece on CNN.com, Congress continues to work to prevent government research related to firearms. Read More
December 14th, 2012
The Environmental Protection Agency will revise the air pollution standard for particulate matter today to be in line with the best available science, reports the Washington Post. Particulate matter is the primary component of soot. It is encouraging to see the agency following the Clean Air Act, especially in the face of strong industry pressure to ignore science again. Read More
December 7th, 2012
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Obama administration’s decision to prevent the FDA from using the best available science in evaluating the emergency contraception drug Plan B. It was a setback in the Obama administration’s pledge to restore science to its rightful place and listen to scientists “even when it is inconvenient–especially when it is inconvenient.” In the interim, evidence has been mounting that the administration’s decision has placed unnecessary barriers to access to Plan B. It’s time for the administration to allow the FDA to revisit the decision. Read More
July 18th, 2012
The Washington Post is reporting that the White House—again—is interfering with the EPA’s ability to set scientific air pollution standards. Last time, it was the president who prevented the EPA from strengthening the air quality standard for ozone, despite the unanimous advice of the agency’s independent scientific advisory committee. This time, the interference is coming from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Read More
February 23rd, 2012
Under Administrator Lisa Jackson’s tenure, the EPA has worked to restore public trust in the agency. On her first day, she issued a “fishbowl” memo that committed the agency to three core values: scientific integrity, transparency, and the rule of law. This week, the EPA released its long-awaited scientific integrity policy and, as with other agencies, there is significant improvement over the first draft. Read More
© 2013
