Bush's Other War:
The Assault on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Other Nominations>>

>>Tom Coburn
>>Alma L. Golden, M.D.
>>W. David Hager, M.D.
>>Eric Keroack, M.D.
>>John M. Klink
>>Rev. Herbert H. Lusk, Jr.
>>Joe McIlhaney
>>Susan Orr
>>Ellen Sauerbrey
>>Anita Smith

Tom Coburn: to co-chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Coburn, a Republican former U.S. representative from Oklahoma (elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004), is a vocal opponent of family planning and other reproductive health services, and has said he would "challenge the national focus on condom use for preventing the spread of [HIV]." Coburn resigned his seat on the panel when elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004. 

Alma L. Golden, M.D.: as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA) to oversee a range of reproductive health programs, including abstinence-only-until-marriage and the Title X family planning programs (see Title X). With support from a federal grant, Dr. Golden served as medical director for S.A.G.E. Advice, a program that trains physicians in techniques encouraging health risk avoidance and delay of sexual activity until marriage for preadolescents through young adults. Typical of the training is this directive: "I'm glad you haven't started having sex. Waiting until marriage allows you to avoid STDs, pregnancy, and a broken heart." An additional sexual-risk avoidance tip Dr. Golden suggests is one that worked for her: Her father gave her flying lessons so she could expend her thrill-seeking enthusiasm in the air. Golden resigned from office and was later replaced by Eric Keroack.

W. David Hager, M.D.: named to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) December 24, 2002 and, despite intense public opposition, asked to serve another year in June 2004. Before joining the Committee, Hager, who served on the Physicians Resource Council of Focus on the Family, had assisted the Christian Medical Association in a "citizen's petition" calling on the FDA to reverse itself on mifepristone (RU 486). He refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women, endorses the medically inaccurate assertion that emergency contraception causes abortions, and advises women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome to seek help by reading the Bible and praying. In January 2004, Hager was one of only four panel members who voted against the approval of a petition for over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B—all 24 other members voted in favor of the recommendation. On May 6, 2004, the FDA denied the petition to make Plan B over the counter, rejecting the advice of its own expert panel. At a speech delivered at Asbury College in October 2004, Hager explained his involvement in the FDA's decision thus: "I was asked to write a minority opinion that was sent to the commissioner of the FDA...Now the opinion I wrote was not from an evangelical Christian perspective...But I argued it from a scientific perspective, and God took that information, and He used it through this minority report to influence the decision." Selections from Hager's Asbury College speech were brought to light in an exposé published in The Nation in May 2005. The same article contained allegations by Hager's ex-wife that Hager repeatedly sexually assaulted her while they were married. Click here to read the full article. Hager chose to not be reappointed to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee and so ended his term on June 30, 2005.

Eric Keroack, M.D.: as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA). To the surprise of many that anticipated a more balanced approach to governing following the 2006 elections, the White House named Eric Keroack, MD to head government Title X programs that provide contraceptives, family planning, and other reproductive health services to lower income individuals in every state. Keroack, an ardent anti-choice Ob-Gyn, opposes much of the mission of Title X and his career has been dedicated to promoting flawed abstinence-only programs, which have enjoyed federal support of more than $1 billion. He serves on the Medical Advisory Council for the Abstinence Clearinghouse and is a member of the Federal Expert Panel commissioned to define the guidelines for most governmental funding of abstinence education in our public schools-programs that have grown over recent years and have yet to be proven effective. In fact, a recent government report concludes that federally-funded programs do not always contain medically-accurate information. Keroack was the Medical Director of A Woman's Concern crisis pregnancy centers, an organization that opposes contraception and does not distribute information promoting birth control at any of its six centers. Its website states, "A Woman's Concern is persuaded that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness." Unfortunately, Dr. Keroack's clinics seem to be unaware that Title X programs have—among other things benefiting women—enabled them to avoid one million unintended pregnancies every year, which leads to fewer abortions as well. This position does not require a confirmation from the Senate, and Keroack began work in December 2006. The Massachusetts Office of Medicaid filed an action against Keroack in March and as a result, Keroack resigned from this position on March 28, 2007.

John M. Klink: considered for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, over the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Klink served as core strategist and representative for the Vatican at the UN from 1994-2000. While serving on the Vatican's delegations to major UN meetings, Klink opposed the distribution and promotion of condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. He argued that parental rights supercede the best interests of the child, even when parents are abusive. He spoke out against reproductive health services for refugee women—arguably the most vulnerable people in the world-even when they are victims of rape. After months of controversy, including revelation of his positions against sexual and reproductive health and rights, Klink withdrew his name from consideration in early October of 2001. The Administration nonetheless appointed him to the U.S. delegations for the UN Special Session on Children, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference (see ICPD, above), at a cost to taxpayers of more than $40,000

Rev. Herbert H. Lusk, Jr.: to the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), a body established during the Clinton administration to provide policy recommendations on the U.S. government's response to HIV/AIDS. Former running back for the Philadelphia Eagles and current pastor of Philadelphia's Greater Exodus Baptist Church, Lusk is a longtime supporter of President Bush; offering public endorsements in 2000 and 2004. Although Lusk's appointment to PACHA will allow him to influence U.S. HIV/AIDS policies both domestically and internationally, he has little to no experience in HIV/AIDS policy and programming. In 2003 he founded "Stand for Africa" to rally support for Christian organizations in Africa providing treatment for HIV/AIDS, but to date, the organization's activities remain unclear. Lusk has been much more vocal on gay rights (he supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and opposes gay and lesbian couples' right to adopt), abstinence-only-until-marriage programs (he is a strong supporter of such programs, despite the lack of any evidence of their effectiveness), and increased government funding for faith-based organizations (his own organization, People for People, has received over $1 million in grants under the Bush administration's Faith Based Initiative). In articulating his opposition to gay marriage during a January 2006 rally in support of the nomination of current Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Lusk cautioned, "My friends, don't fool with the church because the church has buried a million critics. And those the church has not buried, the church has made funeral arrangement for."

Joe McIlhaney: to the President's Advisory Board on HIV/AIDS. McIlhaney is the head of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, and he opposes comprehensive sexuality education as an effective strategy for preventing STDs and unwanted pregnancy.

Susan Orr: as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA) - following the disastrous appoint of Erick Keroack (see above).  Orr oversees the $300 million program that provides contraceptives and reproductive health services to low income Americans.  Orr held other positions in the administration prior to this appointment, and prior to that worked as senior director for marriage and family care at the anti-contraception. Family Research Council .  While at FRC in 2001, Orr applauded a Bush administration proposal to block federal employees from being able to obtain health insurance that covers a range of contraceptives, stating "We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease.  It's not a medical necessity to have it."

Ellen Sauerbrey: as Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration at the U.S. Department of State. Immediately following the disastrous federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration once again promoted political cronyism over competency with the nomination and subsequent recess appointment of Ellen Sauerbrey. As the focal point and first responder for humanitarian crises worldwide, the Assistant Secretary is responsible for advising the Secretary of State, the National Security Council, the President, and the nation, expeditiously and effectively. She must be able to work effectively with the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other multinational organizations. But Sauerbrey-a former state legislator who chaired George Bush's 2000 campaign in Maryland, and who has twice unsuccessfully run for governor of that state-has none of the management credentials, technical expertise, international experience, or diplomatic skills to handle the job and the $1 billion budget that comes with it. Sauerbrey has had no direct experience dealing with refugees in crisis or refugee resettlement. While serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March 2005 (another plum appointment from President Bush), she worked tirelessly to undo international agreements that promote the health and rights of women. She opposes the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), has participated in the right-wing misinformation campaign against UNFPA (the United Nations Population Fund), and insists that the term "reproductive health programs" is code for abortion. Extensive media coverage has drawn attention to Sauerbrey's lack of qualifications for the position, and two previous Assistant Secretaries (both Republicans) publicly opposed her nomination. Following Sauerbrey's nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) held up the Committee vote, recognizing that he did not have the support to move her nomination to the full Senate. On January 4, 2006, in a highly abnormal process, President Bush installed Sauerbrey via a recess appointment, once again circumventing the advice and consent of an unsupportive Senate.  In January 2007 Bush renominated Sauerbrey, though the Senate did not confirm her and her recess appointment ended in December 2007.

Anita Smith: to the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), a body established during the Clinton administration to provide policy recommendations on the U.S. government's response to HIV/AIDS. An outspoken opponent of comprehensive sexuality education with close ties to the Bush administration, Smith is vice president of the Institute for Youth Development and head of the Children's AIDS Fund (CAF). CAF was originally founded as Americans for Sound AIDS/HIV Policy by Smith and her husband, Shepherd Smith, in the 1990s. In 2004 their organization applied for funding from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to implement an "abstinence-only" HIV prevention program in Uganda, but a federal expert panel deemed their project "not suitable for funding." Without explanation, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator overrode the panel's decision and authorized the grant to CAF. On February 15, 2005, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to the Global AIDS Coordinator's office to learn why the grant was made despite the proposal's negative rating, but to date he has received no response.

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