Clinton Denounces Bush's Family Planning Appointment

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton joined birth control advocates Thursday in demanding that the Bush administration withdraw an appointment that places federal family planning funds under the control of a woman they consider hostile to contraception programs.

Susan Orr, who has been one of the top Department of Health and Human Services officials dealing with child welfare, was appointed this week as the agency's acting deputy assistant secretary for population affairs. That puts her in charge of $283 million in 2007 federal funding for a range of family planning services as well as funding for abstinence education.

Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Orr's appointment ''sends a message to women that ideology trumps women's health.''

''It's beyond satire to see what this administration has once again done,'' Clinton said during a phone-in news conference. ''It's the fox guarding the henhouse when it comes to family planning.''

Orr worked in Health and Human Services as a child welfare specialist during Bill Clinton's presidency and later served as senior director for marriage and family at the Family Research Council, a conservative advocacy group that supports abstinence-only education and often opposes initiatives to broaden access to contraception.

''This really is an Alice in Wonderland moment, where you have an individual appointed for a position overseeing birth control who opposes federal involvement in birth control,'' said Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Colorado, who also joined in the news conference hosted by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Clinton, DeGette, and two other Democrats, Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington and Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, said they would write to Health and Human Services secretary Mike Leavitt asking that Orr be replaced.

''We need a candidate with a serious commitment to women's health,'' Murray said.

In her new post, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Orr oversees Title X, the federal family planning program that serves more than 5 million low-income Americans annually. It is credited with helping prevent more than 1 million unintended pregnancies each year.

A Health and Human Services spokesman, Kevin Schweers, said Orr wouldn't have accepted the job if she couldn't support the Bush administration's policies, including providing ''safe and effective contraceptive products and services to clients in need.''

''Of course, we also support the teaching of abstinence to young people as the only 100% effective means of preventing pregnancy, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections,'' Schweers added.

Several of the groups opposing Orr's appointment have chided her for a remark made in 2001, when she praised the Bush administration for proposing to give federal employees the option to choose a health plan that didn't include family planning coverage.

''We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease,'' said Orr, who was then with the Family Research Council.

Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, said Orr's appointment was dismaying because it signaled an uphill fight to gain more federal funding for family planning.

With the Democrats now controlling congress, ''we stand to address the underfunding,'' Richards said. ''We need an ally in the federal government.''

This is the second time in 12 months that a controversy had flared over the same job.

Planned Parenthood and its allies also opposed the appointment last year of physician Eric Keroack to head the population affairs office, citing his previous work with an organization that opposed contraception. Keroack resigned in March after Medicaid officials in Massachusetts launched an investigation into his private practice. (David Crary, AP)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Be the first to comment on this story.

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above.

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives

View From the Hill: The End of DADT?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed that lawyers are exploring ways to ease enforcement of the military's gay ban, but cautioned that the law doesn't leave much wiggle room. He need look no further than DOD history for a lesson in altering the policy.

Hot Sheet: Week of July 5
When you get back from that big 4th of July barbecue, unwind with Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and your favorite B-movie-mocking, basic cable robots.

Hungry Like the Wolf
A master of viola, ukulele, piano, and harp, Patrick Wolf is a music prodigy -- one who, the night before this interview, spit on a cop and got himself arrested.

Soapside: Advocate's Guide to Daytime
Forbes March talks about playing gay, Otalia fans outraged, update on One Life to Live’s Patricia Maurceri’s firing over gay plot point, Phillip Chancellor III big reveal, and Erica Kane goes to Africa.

The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
With the federal challenge to Prop. 8 moving full speed ahead, Advocate.com sits down with the two couples named as plaintiffs in the suit.

Mommy, the Gays Are Coming
After a year of advancements and celebration for gay and lesbian Colombians, the community takes to the streets of Bogota for the country's biggest pride ever.

The Pride of Antwerp
Advocate.com hits the gay-friendly streets of Antwerp with openly gay police commissioner Serge Muyters.

Excerpt: Mean Little Deaf Queer
In an excerpt from her humorous and harrowing new memoir, Mean Little Deaf Queer, Terry Galloway recalls her early childhood, describing feelings of ugliness, confusion about gender, and being one of the boys.

Top Political Blogs
From Joe.My.God to The Daily Beast, Advocate.com spotlights a few of the best blogs that cover politics, inside and way outside the Beltway.

The Diva of French Television
A hot young screenwriter who has made gay OK for millions of French viewers, Nicolas Mercier sips champagne, dons a feathered hat, and says he wants to see Colin Farrell and Jude Law go at it.