Bush Family Planning Appointee Called Contraceptives Part Of The
Culture Of Deathı
On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal
family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare
programs, was touted by the administration as ³highly qualified.²
But a look at Orrıs record shows that her strongest qualifications
appear to be her right-wing credentials and endorsement of the Bush
administrationıs failed abstinence-only policies. Before joining HHS,
Orr served as senior director for marriage and family care at the
conservative Family Research Council and was an adjunct professor at
Pat Robertsonıs Regent University. Some highlights:
In a 2001, Orr embraced a Bush administration proposal to ³stop
requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees² to cover
a broad range of birth control. ³Weıre quite pleased, because
fertility is not a disease,² said Orr.
At the 2001 Conservative Political Action Conference, Orr
cheered Bushıs endorsement of Reaganıs ³Mexico City Policy,² which
required NGOs receiving federal funds to ³neither perform nor
actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other
nations.² Orr said that it was proof Bush was pro-life ³in his heart.²
In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring
health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. ³Itıs not about
choice,² said Orr. ³Itıs not about health care. Itıs about making
everyone collaborators with the culture of death.²
Orr authored a paper in 2000 titled, ³Real Women Stay Married.²
In it she wrote that women should ³think about focusing our eyes, not
upon ourselves, but upon the families we form through marriage.²
As Steve Benen notes, the office of family planning carries
tremendous importance. Orr will ³oversee HHSıs $283 million
reproductive-health program, a $30 million program that encourages
abstinence among teenagers, and HHSıs Office of Population Affairs,
which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and
screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.²
Last year, President Bush appointed Eric Keroack to oversee the
office. Keroack had previously worked for a Christian pregnancy
counseling group that opposes contraception. He stepped down in March
over ethical problems.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/17/susan-orr/
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