President Bush has announced his plan to select Dr. W. David Hager to head
up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health Drugs
Advisory Committee. The committee has not met for more than two years,
during which time its charter has lapsed. As a result, the Bush
Administration is tasked with filling all eleven positions with new members.
This position does not require Congressional approval.
The FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee makes crucial
decisions on matters relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics,
gynecology and related specialties, including hormone therapy,
contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to
surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination. Dr.
Hager's views of reproductive health care are far outside the mainstream of
setback for reproductive technology.
Dr. Hager is a practicing OB/GYN who describes himself as "pro-life" and
refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. Hager is the author
of "As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now." The book
blends biblical accounts of Christ healing women with case studies from
Hager's practice. In the book Dr. Hager wrote with his wife, entitled
"Stress and the Woman's Body," he suggests that women who suffer from
premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying.
As an editor and contributing author of "The Reproduction Revolution: A
Christian Appraisal of Sexuality, Reproductive Technologies and the Family,"
Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that
the common birth control pill is an abortifacient. Hagar's mission is
religiously motivated. He has an ardent interest in revoking approval for
mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) as a safe and early form of medical
abortion.
Hagar recently assisted the Christian Medical Association in a "citizen's
petition" which calls upon the FDA to revoke its approval of mifepristone in
the name of women's health. Hager's desire to overturn mifepristone's
approval on religious grounds rather than scientific merit would halt the
development of mifepristone as a treatment for numerous medical conditions
disproportionately affecting women, including breast cancer, uterine cancer,
uterine fibroid tumors, psychotic depression, bipolar depression and
Cushing's syndrome. Women rely on the FDA to ensure their access to safe
and effective drugs for reproductive health care including products that
prevent pregnancy. For some women, such as those with certain types of
diabetes and those undergoing treatment for cancer, pregnancy can be a
life-threatening condition.
We are concerned that Dr. Hager's strong religious beliefs may color his
assessment of technologies that are necessary to protect women's lives or to
preserve and promote women's health. Hager's track record of using
religious beliefs to guide his medical decision-making makes him a dangerous
and inappropriate candidate to serve as chair of this committee.
Critical drug public policy and research must not be held hostage by
antiabortion politics. Members of this important panel should be appointed
based on science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American
women deserve no less.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1. SEND THIS TO EVERY PERSON WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
2. OPPOSE THE PLACEMENT OF THIS MAN BY CONTACTING THE WHITE HOUSE AND TELL
THEM HE IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE ON ANY LEVEL.
Please email President Bush at [email protected] or call the White
House at (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414 and say, "I oppose the appointment
of Dr. Hager to the FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.
Mixing religion and medicine is unacceptable. Using the FDA to promote a
political agenda is inappropriate and seriously threatens all women's
health."
up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health Drugs
Advisory Committee. The committee has not met for more than two years,
during which time its charter has lapsed. As a result, the Bush
Administration is tasked with filling all eleven positions with new members.
This position does not require Congressional approval.
The FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee makes crucial
decisions on matters relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics,
gynecology and related specialties, including hormone therapy,
contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to
surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination. Dr.
Hager's views of reproductive health care are far outside the mainstream of
setback for reproductive technology.
Dr. Hager is a practicing OB/GYN who describes himself as "pro-life" and
refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. Hager is the author
of "As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now." The book
blends biblical accounts of Christ healing women with case studies from
Hager's practice. In the book Dr. Hager wrote with his wife, entitled
"Stress and the Woman's Body," he suggests that women who suffer from
premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying.
As an editor and contributing author of "The Reproduction Revolution: A
Christian Appraisal of Sexuality, Reproductive Technologies and the Family,"
Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that
the common birth control pill is an abortifacient. Hagar's mission is
religiously motivated. He has an ardent interest in revoking approval for
mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) as a safe and early form of medical
abortion.
Hagar recently assisted the Christian Medical Association in a "citizen's
petition" which calls upon the FDA to revoke its approval of mifepristone in
the name of women's health. Hager's desire to overturn mifepristone's
approval on religious grounds rather than scientific merit would halt the
development of mifepristone as a treatment for numerous medical conditions
disproportionately affecting women, including breast cancer, uterine cancer,
uterine fibroid tumors, psychotic depression, bipolar depression and
Cushing's syndrome. Women rely on the FDA to ensure their access to safe
and effective drugs for reproductive health care including products that
prevent pregnancy. For some women, such as those with certain types of
diabetes and those undergoing treatment for cancer, pregnancy can be a
life-threatening condition.
We are concerned that Dr. Hager's strong religious beliefs may color his
assessment of technologies that are necessary to protect women's lives or to
preserve and promote women's health. Hager's track record of using
religious beliefs to guide his medical decision-making makes him a dangerous
and inappropriate candidate to serve as chair of this committee.
Critical drug public policy and research must not be held hostage by
antiabortion politics. Members of this important panel should be appointed
based on science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American
women deserve no less.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1. SEND THIS TO EVERY PERSON WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
2. OPPOSE THE PLACEMENT OF THIS MAN BY CONTACTING THE WHITE HOUSE AND TELL
THEM HE IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE ON ANY LEVEL.
Please email President Bush at [email protected] or call the White
House at (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414 and say, "I oppose the appointment
of Dr. Hager to the FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.
Mixing religion and medicine is unacceptable. Using the FDA to promote a
political agenda is inappropriate and seriously threatens all women's
health."