News

Bush makes controversial appointment of new head of family planning office

BMJ 2007; 335 doi: 10.1136/bmj.39377.465752.DB (Published 25 October 2007)
Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:844.2

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

  1. Janice Hopkins Tanne
  1. New York

    In a controversial move President George Bush has appointed Susan Orr as acting deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, to head the Office of Population Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

    Dr Orr, who is not a physician but has a PhD, was widely criticised in the US press because in a 2001 interview with the Washington Post she was quoted as saying that she supported a Bush proposal to stop requiring health plans for federal employees to cover contraception. She was quoted as saying, “We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease.”

    Dr Orr has served in the US health department for six years. She was working at the conservative Family Research Council—whose slogan is “family, faith, and freedom”—when …

    Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment

    Subscribe

    Article access

    Article access for 1 day

    Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*

    The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record

    * Prices do not include VAT

    Rapid responses

    THIS WEEK'S POLL

    BMJ most popular