For three years, the leadership of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has assured Congress and Americans that it is not playing politics as it reviews an application for the over-the-counter sale of Plan B, an emergency contraceptive.

The latest instance of that claim came from acting chief Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, who has been nominated to lead the FDA. The previous director, Lester Crawford, abruptly resigned last September. He gained Senate confirmation only after assuring skeptical U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Hillary Clinton that he would act swiftly on the Plan B application.

Instead, Crawford announced last August that he would delay a decision, even though he acknowledged that the product was safe.

No further movement had taken place on the application until Monday, when von Eschenbach announced the FDA wanted to reopen discussions with Barr Pharmaceuticals to work out a compromise for over-the-counter sales.

This announcement came one day before he was to testify at a confirmation on Capitol Hill. But we’re told politics had nothing to do with it.

Von Eschenbach’s proposal is to allow over-the-counter sales to women 18 and older. Barr had proposed that 16 be the cutoff age. When pressed by senators, von Eschenbach couldn’t come up with a scientific rationale for an age limit of 18. He says he settled on it because that’s the cutoff for cigarette sales.

That’s an odd comparison since Plan B has been deemed safe, while cigarettes are deadly.

Another oddity is that von Eschenbach wants Barr to come up with a plan for keeping its product away from minors without a prescription. That’s like telling Budweiser it can no longer sell beer if it winds up in the hands of underage drinkers. Such a stipulation looks like yet another disingenuous hurdle for the manufacturer to try to clear.

Von Eschenbach assured senators that his plan is not politically motivated and that he is not being pressured by the White House or groups opposed to emergency contraception. But on Thursday, the Center for Reproductive Services released a deposition from an FDA official who said she was told by another FDA official that Plan B would have to be rejected to “appease the administration’s constituents,” but that it could be approved later.

Former FDA Director Mark McClellan denies such a cynical ploy, but that looks to be what will happen.

Women in Washington state can already get emergency contraceptives without a prescription. Opponents have not produced credible evidence of the harm that may have come from this. Though foes call the pill a form of abortion, the FDA considers it to be a contraceptive.

In fact, it helps prevent abortions.

The FDA is killing its credibility with these stall tactics. It is supposed to follow the science to its logical conclusion. The agency approved 67 of 68 applications for the over-the-counter sales of drugs from 1994 to 2004, according to the Los Angeles Times. The only one it denied? Plan B.

Von Eschenbach’s nomination should be held up until he can prove that he can put science above politics.