[Dialogue] Contraception, abortion foe to head family-planning office

[Harry Wainwright]

 <http://www.cnn.com> CNN.com

 



 

Contraception, abortion foe to head family-planning office

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, to the consternation of its
critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes
premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees
federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.

The appointment of Eric Keroack, a Marblehead, Massachusetts, obstetrician
and gynecologist, to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs and
its $283 million annual budget has angered family-planning advocates.

Keroack currently is medical director of A Woman's Concern, a Christian
nonprofit. The Dorchester, Massachusetts-based organization runs six centers
in the state that offer free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and counseling.

It also works to "help women escape the temptation and violence of
abortion," according to its statement of faith. And it opposes
contraception, saying its use increases out-of-wedlock pregnancy and
abortion rates.

"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," its contraception
policy reads in part.

"The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Dr. Eric
Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking proof
that the Bush administration remains dramatically out of step with the
nation's priorities," Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood
Federation of America, said in a statement.

A message left with A Woman's Concern was not immediately returned Friday.

Keroack's appointment as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs
does not require Senate confirmation. He is expected to start work in the
next several weeks, Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman
Christina Pearson said.

The department's assistant secretary for health, Dr. John Agwunobi, cited
Keroack's experience in working primarily with "women and girls in crisis"
in lauding his appointment.

"He regularly speaks to youth audiences on sexual risk behaviors and has
been nationally recognized for his work on preventing teen pregnancy,"
Agwunobi said.

Copyright 2006 The Associated <http://www.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html#AP>
Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed.

 

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/17/family.planning.ap/index.html?eref=rs
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