Women's Rights... *Sigh*

The problem with extremist political emails and articles is that they so rarely get the facts straight (if indeed they care about them at all.) The ideological echo-chamber tends to trump these things up to a fever pitch. A few misreadings and updatings and the thing gets totally lost in emotion. Here's the one that got forwarded to me today:

Subject: Womens Rights

PLEASE READ:

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. The committee has not met for more than two years, during which time its charter lapsed. As a result, the Bush Administration is tasked with filling all eleven positions with new members. This position does not require Congressional approval. The FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee makes crucial decisions on matters relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics, gynecology and related specialties, including hormone therapy, contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination.

Dr. Hager, the author of "As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then
and Now." The book blends biblical accounts of Christ healing Women with case studies from Hager's practice. His views of reproductive health care are far outside the mainstream for reproductive technology. Dr. Hager is a practicing OB/GYN who describes himself as "pro-life" and refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. In the book Dr.Hager wrote with his wife, entitled "Stress and the Woman's Body," he suggests that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying. 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.

We are concerned that Dr. Hager's strong religious beliefs may color his assessment of technologies that are necessary to protect women's lives for to preserve and promote women's health. 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. Critical drug public policy and research must not be held hostage by antiabortion politics. Members of this important panel should be appointed on the basis of science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American women deserve no less. There is something you can do. Below is a statement to be sent to the White House, opposing the placement of Hager.

At the end the email has a typical sign and pass-on petition to email to the White House. Of course the appointment was two years ago now and Dr. Hager has been on the board for this whole time. Any fears you have abouthim based on this email are probably wrong at this point. Anyway, don't bother sending the petition in... it's too late.

Now, from the obvious lack of complete logical arguments and corroborating evidence, we should immediately be suspicious of the email. The email jumps from a book title to the insistance that Dr. Hager's ideas are "far outside the mainstream for reproductive technology." The email attributes the suggestion of reading the Bible to Dr. Hager as an aid for PMS. This is really an innocent recommendation from a actively Christian doctor to his (assumedly) actively Christian patients. However, the email plays this up as if he considered this the only remedy for PMS without actually saying that outright. Three out of four readers here were under the impression that Dr. Hager was doing this after reading the email. Of course reading it carefully you can't find that definitively stated. Let's call it the "suggestive sentence in context" technique. The email also posits the idea that "Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that the common birth control pill is an abortifacient" simply because he helped edit a book which contained that idea.

At the end the email goes rabid, more or less claiming that being a religious person is dangerous. It also claims that Dr. Hager has some crazy religious views that prevent him from making sound medical decisions which is not evidenced in the email. It is merely an assumption based on the fact that he actively participates in his faith.

So, what do we do with these emails? Yup, Truth or Fiction.com! And they say:

The Truth
Dr. David Hager is a part of the teaching staff of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and has developed a reputation as an expert on gynecologic infections. This eRumor was circulated before Dr. Hager actually became a member of the committee. He is now a part of the panel, although he did not become the chairman of it. He is a conservatively oriented physician and is a speaker and author in the Christian community who describes himself as pro-life. He objected to this eRumor saying that he does not know who wrote it and that no one had interviewed him for it and that some of it is not accurate. He says that he does not refuse to prescribe birth control for unmarried patients. He is an advocate of abstinence but for patients who do not make that choice, he is not opposed to birth control prescription. He also says that his opposition to RU-486 was based on his concerns about the safety of the drug. He says RU-486 was approved under an "Accelerated Approval Process" reserved exclusively for anti-AIDS and anti-cancer drugs and an antihypertensive agent. He says that normally the FDA requires one or more than one randomized, controlled trials before approving a drug, which was not done for RU-486. He also says that he does not believe that standard birth control pills are abortifacient and has never written it. He says he co-edited a book that referenced various views about birth control pills but that not all of those views were his own. Regarding his views of how to deal with stress-related disorders in women, he says "I have always offered a holistic approach to therapy. I suggest diet/exercise changes, medications as needed, counseling when required, and meditation/prayer."

Last updated 11/30/03

Urban Legends also has an article about this petition/email.

The article also appears on the Kern County Democratic Party web page with plenty of added emphasis to make sure youget the proper impressions. :)