Some interesting notes.....
"It is reported that Dr. Hager, an obstetrician-gynecologist by training, refuses to prescribe birth control pills to unmarried women unless "they insist and reject his advice to abstain?. "
http://www.ppmarmonte.org/takeaction/index.asp?step=2&item=2345
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"David Stevens, executive director of CMA, said pro-choice groups are afraid Dr. Hager will expose the dangers of RU-486 and the FDA's dismissal of health concerns. He also defended Dr. Hager's writings.
"Dr. Hager is not saying prayer instead of medicine. He's saying prayer and medicine," Mr. Stevens said, adding that 99 percent of doctors agree religion has a positive effect on healing and 86 medical schools offer courses on the topic.
He has written 41 journal publications, 14 book chapters and six books, and has served on the faculty at Emory University School of Medicine and the University of Kentucky School of Medicine. He was named one of the "Best Doctors for Women" by Good Housekeeping magazine in 1997."
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20021017-787168.htm
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"The panel's chair will be Dr. Linda Giudice, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility for the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Stanford University Medical Center.
Dr. Scott Shields Emerson a professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Washington was among nine other physicians named to the panel. "
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/134603036_ndig26.html
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""I always thought that he handled his religious beliefs well," said Dr. Frank Miller, a longtime UK OB-GYN and a past national president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"He's getting trashed because of his beliefs," said Dr. David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical Association. Stevens, a Kentucky native and Hager's longtime friend, said Hager's national profile has increased in the past several years.
A national post wouldn't be unprecedented for him. Earlier this year, Hager became a member of two federal health advisory committees -- a CDC panel on sexually transmitted diseases and cervical cancer and an advisory committee for women's services with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services administration.
Stevens said that Hager did not solicit the FDA post.
Ruth Ann Childers, spokeswoman for Central Baptist Hospital, said Hager was contacted by Linda Arey Skaladany, an FDA senior associate commissioner who develops lists of nominees for committees.
"She nominated him based on his credentials," Childers said. "He's never met her [and] doesn't know her.""
http://www.acljlife.org/news/abortion/021014_doctor.asp
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The New York Times reported that Hager said he prefers not to prescribe contraceptives to single women but will if they insist and reject his advice to abstain from sex.
The Times quoted Hager as saying he was "not against medication. The fact that I'm a person of faith does not deter me from also being a person of science."
If chosen, Hager would be only one voice on an 11-person panel to weigh in on various issues, noted Bill Pierce, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. The panel is scheduled to meet next month to discuss hormone replacement therapy.
Hager is a nationally recognized expert on women's health issues, is well-published in medical literature and highly regarded at the University of Kentucky, Pierce said.
"He treats women every single day. He's well-qualified to help with this subject matter," Pierce said.
Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council, said Hager "is the latest victim of religious profiling."
"What NOW and other pro-abortion advocates really believe is that even if a candidate is well-qualified and a good doctor, they can't be an outspoken Christian and get appointed to the FDA," Connor said.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/4299377.htm
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Hager is not being considered to head the 11-member committee, Pierce said. He wouldn't say who nominated Hager, but called the Kentucky doctor "an outstanding physician."
Such public uproar is highly unusual over advisory committees, which are influential but make no binding decisions and usually operate far from the limelight.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/4299398.htm
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So, from this we see:
1. Dr. Hager does not rely completely on religion, quite the contrary.
2. He is well respected by his peers and a reputable "womens" magazine.
3. DOES NOT REFUSE presribing contraceptives to single women, he may recommend that they not take them, but if the insist, he will give them to them.
4. He will not head the commitee, rather he will be just 1 of 11 panel members. Shouldn't the panel at least represent those that believe in a more conservative medical practice?
5. He has served on federal commitees before, so why the outrage now?
6. He would serve on an advisory commitee, which has no final say in policy.
See what happens when we take a report from a pro-choice group as fact, without even bothering to validate it's claims?