-Caveat Lector- http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/1634239
Oct. 25, 2002, 9:15PM Nominee's 'profile' is not encouraging BY ELLEN GOODMAN I confess to a certain grudging admiration for the spinmeisters of the right. In a fit of creativity, they're now accusing their opponents of "religious profiling." The Family Research Council label conjures up the image of godly folk being pulled over to the side of road for dangling their religious beliefs on the rear-view mirror. In this case, their best offense is in defense of W. David Hager, the Kentucky ob-gyn who's being considered for membership and possibly chairmanship of the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Hager was speeding toward nomination when Time magazine described him as a "scantily credentialed" abortion opponent who treated PMS with prayer. Soon he was found everywhere: as an opponent of RU-486 and emergency contraception; as an advocate of abstinence-only programs; as the object of dismay from women's health groups. Excerpts from out-of-print books he co- authored with his wife -- As Jesus Cared for Women and Stress and the Woman's Body -- made Hager sound as if he used the Bible as his Physician's Desk Reference. Hager and his wife advised Romans and Corinthians for PMS. But they also advised exercise and antidepressants. Yes, they collected and offered their favorite scriptures for meditation against stress. But Oprah magazine has promoted candles, aromatherapy and rounds of "om." Different strokes for different spiritual folks? In all this merriment, Cindy Pearson of the National Women's Health Network cautioned, "Our friends in the religious community keep reminding us that religious beliefs are not a disqualification for serving in our society." But the question here is not whether religion is a disqualification; it's whether belonging to the religious right is prerequisite for serving on anything to do with reproduction. In theory, the FDA advisory committee is for research wonks, not ideologues. This is supposedly the place where the safety and effectiveness of drugs are debated, not the morals. At one time, Hager said, "The fact that I'm a person of faith does not deter me from also being a person of science." Can Hager's opponents separate his faith from his science? Can he? Emergency contraception and RU-486 are both slated to be back before the committee. We already know that this would-be adviser opposes emergency contraception on moral grounds. Will that skew his judgment about whether it's safe to sell over the counter? As for RU-486 or mifepristone, Hager's not just opposed to the "abortion pill." Last August he helped the Christian Medical Association produce a "citizens' petition" asking the FDA to take it off the market. They cited new "evidence" of its dangers to women that was neither new nor evidence. "Anyone who can say RU-486 is dangerous and should be overturned is ignoring the science," says Pearson. Not long ago, C. Everett Koop, hardly a pro-choice surgeon general, had to review "scientific" reports that said abortions led to post-traumatic stress disorder. He chose science over ideology. It can be done. But Hager has already made a very different choice. This doctor would be just one of 11 members of an advisory board. We don't even know the others. But this is where government works -- where "experts" rule and change lives. There are 258 outside boards and panels in Health and Human Services. Tommy Thompson's office appoints about 450 people a year to these groups. And increasingly those selected are true believers of industry or ideology. Hager isn't a victim of religious profiling. He was picked because of his profile. Never mind that he chaired a Kentucky revival for Billy Graham's son. Never mind what Scriptures he provides and what prescriptions he denies in private practice. If we don't pull this one to the side of the road, we'll all become his patients. Goodman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Boston Globe. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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