Did You Know - Bush Hates Women

From Progress Report (3/01/2007)...

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Women's Health (OWH) "just had more than one-quarter of this year's $4 million operating budget quietly removed." The office had stood up for scientific research that ultimately led to the approval of the emergency contraceptive Plan B. Because the remaining $2.8 million has already been spent or allocated, the funding cut will "effectively halt further operations for the rest of the year." Yesterday, a group of senators -- Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) -- wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach demanding a halt to the agency's efforts to de-fund the office. The letter stated: "As Congress moves forward with the budget and appropriations process, we will pursue every course to make certain that this funding is restored. We intend to use every tool at our disposal to make sure that the OWH has the resources it needs to safeguard women's health." The Bush administration has done little to promote -- and a great deal to impede -- the functions of the OWH. Susan Wood, the office's former director, resigned in 2005 over the politically-motivated delay surrounding the approval of Plan B. The administration then moved to appoint an "FDA veteran trained in animal husbandry who spent much of his career in the agency's Center for Veterinary Medicine" to oversee the office. Fierce opposition caused the administration to reconsider that appointment. Women's health advocates believe the reported funding cuts are "payback" for OWH's stance on Plan B and is the beginning of an effort to shut the office down completely. "We must work together in Congress to sustain funding for the Office of Women's Health so that vital women's health research is not halted for political retribution," Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) said.