Standing Up For Science

I just read that Susan Wood, the FDA's director of the Office of Women's Health, resigned her position today. She cited the agency's endless stalling and political maneuvering over emergency contraception as the reason for her resignation. Here's an excerpt [1] from the e-mail she wrote to colleagues announcing her decision:

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...The recent decision announced by the Commissioner about emergency contraception, which continues to limit women's access to a product that would reduce unintended pregnancies and reduce abortions, is contrary to my core commitment to improving and advancing women's health.

Wood follows in the tradition of several foreign service officers [2]  who resigned their posts in 2003 in protest of Bush's Iraq war. It's refreshing and enlightening to see, in the face of such backward thinking and conservative strongholds, that smart and principled people are still around—and refuse to simply go along. We're with you all the way, Ms. Wood.