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Coalition StatementOctober 22, 2002 President George W. Bush Dear President Bush: The undersigned organizations are writing to express our concern regarding the status of the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee at the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The committee has not met for more than two years, during which time its charter has lapsed. As a result, your administration is tasked with filling all eleven positions with new members. FDA advisory panels often have near-final say over crucial health issues, and we feel strongly that science, rather than politics and ideology, should dictate the composition and work of the committee. The Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee reviews and evaluates data on the safety and effectiveness of drugs used in the practice of obstetrics, gynecology, and related specialties, and makes recommendations to the FDA Commissioner. The panel is expected to lead the FDA's review of hormone-replacement therapy for menopausal women, a major controversy in health care today. We are gravely concerned about the possible appointment of W. David Hager,
M.D., the author of As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now,
who Time magazine reported on October 5 is slated to head the Reproductive Health
Drugs Advisory Committee. As national organizations dedicated to improving access
to health care for all women, we are concerned that Dr. Hager's adherence to
his views, which Time magazine cites two sources familiar with Dr. Hager's private practice as saying that he refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. He has gone so far as to suggest that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the Bible and praying. In addition, 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. Dr. Hager, who serves on the Physicians Resource Council of Focus on the Family, recently assisted the Christian Medical Association in a "citizens' petition" calling upon the FDA to reverse itself on the abortion drug mifepristone, saying it has endangered the lives and health of women. The FDA determined in October of 2000 that mifepristone is safe and effective for use by American women. Any suggestion that mifepristone should be treated differently than other drugs and devices is indefensible. Dr. Hager's record of using ideological beliefs to guide his medical decision-making and recommendations calls into question his ability to effectively chair the FDA advisory committee. Women rely on the FDA to ensure that they have access to safe and effective drugs. We are concerned that Dr. Hager's strong personal beliefs may color his assessment of technologies that could improve women's health. In a pluralistic society, there is no place at the FDA for someone who, based on personal beliefs, would deny unmarried women access to technologies that are a part of mainstream medical care and to which they have a legal right. Once again, we strongly urge you to choose members of this important panel on the basis of science and medicine, rather than politics and ideology. American women deserve no less. Advocates for Youth
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