URGENT ACTION NEEDED -- FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee
   Bush Selection Favors Prayer for PMS and
   Opposes the Use of Contraception by Unmarried Women

   President Bush has announced his plan to select Dr. W. David Hager to
   head up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health
   Drugs Advisory Committee. Hager is a practicing
   obstetrician-gynecologist, and sources told Time magazine that in his
   private practice he will not prescribe contraceptives to unmarried
   women. He is also the author of a book which suggests that women who
   suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the
   bible and praying.

   The Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee is responsible for
   offering expert scientific and medical advice to the FDA on matters
   relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics, gynecology, and
   related specialties. The committee's responsibilities include all
   contraceptive drugs and drugs used in performing medical abortion as
   well as drugs used for infertility treatments, hormone replacement
   therapy and labor and delivery.

   Hager's track record of using religious beliefs to guide his medical
   decision-making makes him a dangerous and inappropriate candidate to
   serve as chair of this committee. Women rely on the FDA to ensure their
   access to safe and effective drugs for reproductive health care
   including products that have been proven to help safely prevent
   pregnancy. For some women - such as those with certain types of
   diabetes and those undergoing treatment for cancer - pregnancy can be a
   life-threatening condition. Religion should not be a barrier to access
   to safe and effective drugs that are necessary for preserving and
   promoting women's health and protecting women's lives. There is no
   place at the FDA for someone who, based on religious beliefs, would deny
   unmarried women access to technologies which are a part of mainstream
   medical care and to which all women have a legal right.

   To appoint a person who advocates religion as a treatment for
   medical conditions to such an influential position at the agency
   responsible for regulation of medical drugs is to deprive the FDA and
   the women who rely on it of the scientific and medical expertise they
   deserve.

   The National Women's Health Network urges you to email President Bush at
   [log in to unmask] or call the White House at 202-456-1111 to say
   that you oppose the appointment of Dr. Hager to the FDA Reproductive
   Health Drugs Advisory Committee and ask the president to select a
   committee chair with a track record of making medical decisions based on
   science instead of religion.

   If you send an email please send a copy to
   the National Women's Health Network office at
   [log in to unmask]
   --
   Cynthia A. Pearson
   National Women's Health Network
   http://www.womenshealthnetwork.org