Bush's Controversial Family Planning Pick
The appointment does not require Senate confirmation, but infuriated critics nonetheless, because Dr. Keroack is a vocal opponent of both contraception and sex education.
Dr. Keroack, a man, currently serves as the medical director of a Christian organization known as A Woman's Concern. The organization offers free pregnancy tests and counseling but refuses to dispense or recommend birth control, even to married couples, on the grounds that contraception "is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness."
Planned Parenthood issued a statement denouncing the choice, citing it as "The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Dr.Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking proof that the Bush administration remains dramatically out of step with the nation's priorities."
Marilyn Keefe, interim president of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, complained to the newspaper that Keroack's work "seems to really be geared toward furthering anti-choice, anti-contraception policies."
Defenders say that Keroack's experience is working primarily with women and girls in crisis and has been nationally recognized for his work on preventing teen pregnancy." They also say that Dr. Keroack has prescribed birth control in private practice, but have declined to say whether or not he prescribed them to unmarried women, or whether or not this was done to treat medical conditions such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
The Federal Family Planning Program has at least one explicit purpose - to make contraceptives available to low-income women. In his new role, Dr. Keroack will oversee $283 million in annual family-planning grants that, according to HHS, are "designed to provide access to contraceptive supplies and information to all who want and need them with priority given to low-income persons." Some say that it is an inherent contradiction to appoint someone who does not believe in contraception at all, to get this job done.
Some have theorized that the controversial appointment of Dr. Keroack is part of an overall White House political strategy of confrontation. In the aftermath of the Democratic take-over of the House and Senate, President Bush re-nominated the embattled John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations even though many believe his nomination to be dead on arrival. President Bush also re-nominated six appellate court nominees who have previously been blocked by lawmakers.
Published by Stephanie Dray
Stephanie Dray is an author of historical fiction. Her debut novel, LILY OF THE NILE, will hit bookstore shelves in January 2011. She's a storyteller, a game designer, and a cat trainer. In a previous life,... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentI'm disgusted with pretty much every thing Bush has done so far. The theory is that his goal is to bankrupt the government so that all social and welfare programs will be eliminated or dismantled. And it seems to be more truth than theory as time goes by. Republicans often use the analogy that giving money to poor people is like giving a stray puppy some food. Before you know it, you can't get rid of the dog and you're stuck feeding it. If someone is sooooo against abortion, then instead of standing outside the clinics, maybe they should be adopting all of these unwanted children. Perhaps the book "Freakanomics" might enlighten them as to the connection between unwanted children and crime statistics. Ahhh, talk about a pipe dream! Bush can't read anyway. He's just a puppet for Cheney.
Leena, I for one was very upset about an organization that gives "free testing and counseling" When me and my wife suspected she might be pregnant, we went to a clinic that advertised free tests...they gave the test, than proceeded to grill my wife about what she knew about abortion (and wanted to know her position on it) and they also gave her a list of churches...NONE of that bullshit was what we wanted, we just wanted to know if she was pregant. I wouldn't mind if they had any outside indication that they were a religious organization..they did not.
Yeah, Leena, and pregnancy has some pretty severe negative side-effects too, especially when you're 14 and the extent of your sex education has been "Just Say No!" While some non-religious people don't believe in abortion and birth control, both of them live in New Hampshire. Everyone else who has an opinion on the subject is informed by their religious and moral beliefs, and Bush's imposition of a prohibitionist in this position is akin to putting oil company execs in charge of the EPA. More shilling to his flat-headed base in the name of religion. Two more years . . .
I honestly don't understand him and his ideas. This will only lead to more and more pregnancies in young girls, not less.
I totally disagree with quite a few things about Mr. Bush but I must say, I was TOTALLY appaled when he decided to say he was cutting welfare cause "people need to learn how to budget their money" WHAT is he thinking? Not all of us can have a $9375983457 a year job. A lot of us get by on the skin of our teeth a lot. Budget my butt...
For someone like President Bush, who doesn't believe in abortion, it's ironic he would appoint someone like Dr. Keroak, who doesn't believe in BC, to office. Once again this proves the need for separation of church and state.
I'm shaking my head too. What a mismatch, to say the least
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of the public! At least the AC reading public. This is one of those moves that cause me to just shake my head in wonderment,