Contraception Opponent Appointed to HHS from Open Left - Front Page

from http://www.openleft.com/diary/13687/contraception-opponent-appointed-to-hhs

I'm not alone in my displeasure over Obama's appointment of Alexia Kelley, an abortion opponent, to director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Kumbaya.

But that's not the worst of it. Kelley is apparently opposed even to contraception. Which is crazy with a side of guano.

Consider that according to Birth Control Watch, 91 percent of voters support contraception access for couples, hardly surprising considering that the average family size in the US is 3.19 persons. Indeed, contraception is so uncontroversial that a Pew study in 2006 showed that 80 percent of Americans oppose allowing pharmacists to refuse to sell birth control, the so-called 'conscience' clause that Obama seems to support in some form.

In short, this is an appointee with an extreme fringe view of family planning that doesn't represent the majority of Republican voters:

- Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Republicans and Independents favor legislation that would make it easier for people at all income levels to obtain contraception, and 70 percent favor legislation that would help make birth control more affordable. More than 60 percent of fundamentalist/evangelical Protestants favor these proposals.

- Only 2 percent of Republicans and Independents would like to see government restrict access to contraception. A majority (64%) would like to see government provide more information about contraception, and 33 percent would prefer that the government play no role.

Kelley's position is also in the minority among US Catholics, as of a 2007 poll conducted by Catholics for Choice. Their results showed 63 percent of US Catholics believing that church doctrine on contraception should change and 79 percent agreeing with the statement, "using condoms is pro-life because it can prevent the spread of AIDS."

The extremity of our prospective director of Health and Human Services' faith-based initiatives is shocking. But I guess it's just a run-of-the-mill favor for someone who helped out during the campaign. That explains everything.

Let's see what Kelley's won, shall we? This is a list of current funding opportunities in Kelley's new organization, and these are some projects of interest that I noticed on that list, along with some salient details:

Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) to Improve the Delivery and Effectiveness of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Prevention Services for High-Risk and/or Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations
WHAT:  The purpose of the program is to build the capacity of organizations to operate optimally and to provide evidence-based interventions and public health strategies that can help reduce the burden of HIV infection among high-risk and/or racial/ethnic minority populations with the U.S. and its Territories.
AWARD AMOUNT:  28 awards with a maximum of $1,462,500 per award

2009 Reg. 2 Family Planning Services FOA
WHAT: This announcement seeks applications from public and nonprofit private entities to establish and operate voluntary family planning services projects, which shall provide family planning services to all persons desiring such services, with priority for services to persons from low-income families.
AWARD AMOUNT: Award Awarding up to $853,000

2009 Reg. 4 Family Planning Services FOA
AWARD AMOUNT: Award Awarding up to $9,662,000

2009 Reg. 9 Family Planning Services FOA
AWARD AMOUNT: Award Awarding up to $2,276,000

2009 Family Planning Services (Region 8 - North Dakota and Utah)
Award Amounting up to $991,000 for North Dakota;
Award Amounting up to $1,782,000 for Utah

2009 Family Planning Services (Region 5 - Ohio: Central Ohio and Summit, Portage & Medina counties (Northeast Area)
AWARD AMOUNT: Award Amounting up to $859,000

2009 Family Planning Services (Region 3 Pennsylvania, Western and Northeast Area)
AWARD AMOUNT: Award Amounting up to $5,709,000

Multiply 1,462,500 by 28, add 853,000, carry the ... well, holy bleep.

Someone who doesn't believe in contraception is being put in charge of $63,082,000 directly intended for HIV/AIDS prevention and family planning in 2009 for the poorest, most medically underserved populations in the country.

I can understand the conciliatory rhetoric, even when it irritates me. But I don't think it's unreasonable to suspect that this reaching out is going to lead to policy decisions out of keeping with the national consensus of the Democratic party. Decisions that could sacrifice the quality of life of the nation's poorest families in Obama's apparent quest to be liked by people who despise his most reliable constituencies.

If it's the pursuit of power for its own sake, I disapprove. If it's what he really believes, that such sacrifices are worth making, then Obama the president is a person that would have tanked Obama the candidate's campaign well before New Hampshire. If it's a gamble that Kelley will act in contravention of her deeply held personal beliefs out of deference to her boss, will avoid interfering in all funding decisions made by her department relating to these matters, then it's a recklessness with the health of American families that disappoints me.