Reuters:
Several Democratic lawmakers asked the Bush administration on Monday to replace its new family-planning chief because he has worked for a health provider that opposes the use of birth control.
Dr. Eric Keroack's record as an opponent of birth control and abortion makes him a poor choice to oversee a $280 million reproductive-health program, seven House of Representatives Democrats said in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.
"We are concerned that Dr. Keroack has promoted policies -- including the refusal to distribute contraception even to married women -- that directly conflict with the mission of the federal program," the letter said.
Keroack last week was named head of HHS's Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, breast-cancer screening and other health services for 5 million poor people annually. HHS estimates that the program helps to prevent 1.3 million unwanted pregnancies each year.
The office also oversees a $30 million program that encourages sexual abstinence among teens.
This appointment not only needs to be killed, it needs to be killed brutally. The guy's a freakin' quack. The Bush administration's war on reality needs to end somewhere and this idiot's as good a place as any. Congress needs to send the administration a message -- the War on Science is over and you lost.
The administration has to stop throwing these bones to the nutcases on the religious right. These people are bad for America and the world, hands down. And, if you believe that the Bush administration is making a stand or is proud of this appointment, check out how many times the White House mentions it in press releases.
That's right -- not once. Apparently, the administration is so proud of this appointment that they hope no one notices it.
Tags: news politics science health medicine congress propaganda Abstinence Only Eric Keroack bullshit
