Oh. My. God.

[mousme]

 
Gacked from strikemyfancyas posted in the feminist community:

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 medically inaccurate assertions that the common birth control pill is an abortifacient. Hager'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 ofthis important panel should be appointed on the basis of science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American women deserve no less.

Comments

[here-in-spain.livejournal.com]

:O!!

erm. Oh. My. God. indeed. meh.

[coldbeer.livejournal.com]

That is sick. It makes me nauseous.

From the horse's mouth. . .

[sadillac.livejournal.com]

Courtesy of the FDA's Human Drugs Advisory Committee Page (http://www.fda.gov/cder/audiences/acspage/index.htm):

"Advisory committees provide FDA with independent opinions and recommendations from outside experts on applications to market new drugs, and on FDA policies. Advisory committees schedule meetings to consider the applications and reviews for drugs in specialized medical areas, such as cancer or heart disease. FDA staff members who serves as executive secretaries provide administrative support to each advisory committee, which includes a Chair, several members, plus a consumer and patient representative."

* * *

"The marketing applications include data to show the safety and effectiveness of human drugs. The outside experts receive summary information about the applications and copies of FDA's review of the application documents. Based on this information, advisory committees may recommend approval or disapproval of a drug's marketing application. They may also ask for more information before they can make a recommendation. FDA generally follows an advisory committee's recommendation, but is not bound to do so.

Advisory committee meetings are scheduled a year in advance, from October through September. A scheduled meeting may be cancelled if no marketing applications are ready for review by the scheduled date. Meetings may be added to the schedule if a marketing application is ready for review between scheduled meetings. All meetings must be announced in advance in the Federal Register."


This guy (who, admittedly, sounds like somebody I wouldn't want poking around the girly bits of somebody I care about) is not going to be the final word on the OB/GYN drug approval process.
Given the way the FDA works, there's no way that a committee like this can do too much to derail the process. If something important comes before the committee (like RU-486) there's liable to be enough pressure from drug companies, Congress and other stakeholders to keep this guy from going off the deep end.

Along with that, there's no evidence that this guy is going to become the head of the committee anyway. He might be a stalking horse for a more moderate candidate, or there may be something else that causes the President's staff to spike this nomination.

Re: From the horse's mouth. . .

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Well, thank goodness for that. I'm just a little squicked by the idea that he's going to be anywhere *near* the FDA, but what can you do?

Thanks for the more balancing viewpoint. Us Canadjens don't know all the ins and outs of Merriun institutions, after all. ;)

[djs-specs.livejournal.com]

Well if this guy does get the job (and I fervently hope, for the sake of American women that he doesn't) it seems that the Shrub is just following the rumours of putting mega-conservatives in positions of power. That's what he's rumoured to be considering doing with the supreme court when two of the mainstays retire later this year.