October 2, 2006

Official who quit FDA in protest to speak October 4

Susan Wood, a former Food and Drug Administration official who quit to protest the agency's delays in approving "Plan B" emergency contraception, will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4, at the College Nine and Ten Multipurpose Room.

Wood was the assistant commissioner for Women's Health at the FDA, where she directed the FDA Office of Women's Health.

She resigned in 2005 in response to the decision announced by FDA to again delay approval of Plan B, despite the recommendation of FDA scientific staff and advisory committees. In August 2006, Plan B was approved, but limited to women age 18 and older.

Wood's high-profile opposition to what she sees as the politicization of science at the FDA prompted creation of the Susan Wood: FDA Hero Speaking Tour, supported by the Reproductive Health Technologies Project and the Open Society Institute. Her talk at UCSC is titled, "Dr. Susan Wood: A Hero for Women's Health."

Campus sponsors of Wood's talk include College Nine and College Ten; local sponsors include Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and U.S. Representative Sam Farr.

The lecture is free and open to the public.