Surgeon General Nominee Dodges Senator's Questions on Birth Control, Claims Ignorance on Sex Educati

[Ian David]

Thursday's hearing for President Bush's nominee for Surgeon General, James Holsinger, focused on Holsinger's 1991 paper condemning male homosexuality, whether Holsinger could stand up to political pressure, and other topics of importance to the public.

The hearing was admittedly pretty boring, but then Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) took her turn at the microphone. She grilled Holsinger on abstinence-only education, condom usage among our youth, and Plan B among other things.

Transcribed for your pleasure, the dodges of Bush's latest nominee sounded eerily similar to those of Attorney General Albert Gonzales. Whereas Gonzales repeatedly relied on his faulty memory for his dodges ("I cannot recall"), Holsinger relied on his ignorance to avoid contradicting the Bush administration ("I have not kept up with that issue").

Masochists will enjoy this, as it's pretty painful.

More:
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/07/surgeon-general.html

[nolabels]

1. I hope the Dems block any and all future replacements nominated by *

Maybe another idea would also be to take up the default and punch up some of those health questions on the internet. Then take up that information and read and read and read just a whole lot.

[Rob H.]

2. Jebus, what an idiot

First he says this (emphasis added by me):

Sen. Patty Miller (D-WA): You don't have an opinion on abstinence-only curricula at all?

JH: Oh, I think abstinence is one of the mechanisms that we can use around unplanned pregnancies.

PM: What about STDs?

JH: And STDs as well, but I'm just saying that I have not studied the literature to be able to give you an informed answer. That's all I'm saying.

Yeah, 'cause it's not as if a doctor who has taught preventive medicine and been nominated for Surgeon General should already have been keeping up with the literature or anything. :sarcasm: And he didn't really answer the question, either.

Then he goes on to say this:

PM: As SG, you're speaking across the country -- you're talking to a group of high school kids, and you're asked a question about the use of condoms for young people -- how would you respond?

JH: I would respond that that is one of a number of appropriate means of birth control and prevention of STDs. I would also talk about other subjects -- such as the fact that they need to have conversations with their families around their sexual lives, and what's appropriate. I think that I would encourage them to consider abstinence as one of those possibilities. I think that they need to be fully informed as to what the science shows, as far as the ramifications of unplanned teen pregnancies and the impact that has on the lives usually, only usually, on the mother, not the father, and that we need to have a fully informed group of young people in this country.

Okay, (A) admittedly I haven't been a teenager for a long time, but I think it's crazy to hold out the hope that most--or even any--teenagers are going to talk to their families about their sex lives, and (B) Holsinger himself admitted that he hasn't studied the literature, so he's not fully informed as to what the science shows!

Once again, the Bush administration adheres to its credo, "The most dangerously unqualified people for the most important jobs."