A Woman’s Concern All Right!

Well, President George W. Bush might have taken a “thumpin’” in the mid-term elections, but that hasn’t kept him from continuing to pursue bizarre and dangerous policies designed to appeal to the Christian Right.

Case in point, the appointment of Eric Keroack to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs, which oversees a $283 million budget for federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.

Now it’s a given that a Bush appointee would oppose abortion, and Mr. Keroack fits that bill. But the gynecologist and obstetrician has raised the hackles of critics because he also opposes WHAT?

A. Federal funds for sex education courses
B. The HPV vaccine against cervical cancer
C. Interfaith marriage
D. Contraception


ANSWER
D: That’s right, the new head of Bush’s office of family planning opposes contraception. Keroack is currently the medical director of the Christian non-profit A Woman’s Concern, which, among other things, works to “help women escape the temptation and violence of abortion.” But the group also opposes contraception, saying — quite paradoxically — that it increases out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion rates. That’s right, using birth control actually INCREASES unplanned pregnancy in Keroack’s eyes.

We’ll let the group’s own policy statement take it from here: “A Woman’s Concern is persuaded that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness.”

Huh?