Following heavy criticism from concerns with Vioxx and the outrageous delay of the morning-after pill, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford resigned Friday without warning.

Vioxx aside, the delay of the Morning After pill despite widespread scientific support for doing so was a serious misstep for the agency. The FDA had said that the delay was due to concerns for how safe the drug might be for minors - though they acknowledged its safety for grown women. Women's groups decried this stalling measure. NOW had this to say: "For all intents and purposes, the FDA said that since they couldn't figure out how to deal with young women, then NO women could have access to EC as a non-prescription drug."

The decision to delay making emergency contraception more readily available led to FDA Office of Women's Health Director Susan Wood's resignation (see her resignation here) last month. In her letter of resignation, she openly criticized the FDA for its recent disregard for sound medical advice: "I have spent the last 15 years working to ensure that science informs good health policy decisions. 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. I therefore have submitted my resignation effective today."

It seems that the "cronie" problem as seen in other government organizations like FEMA are not restricted to any particular segement of the bureaucracy. With Crawford gone, a door has been opened to begin reforming the agency - but that's seems unlikely to happen as long as GW's in office.