NAF TOOK A STAND/EXECUTIVE NOMINEES/Statement of NAF and Other Organizations on Appointment of Dr. Eric Keroack as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA)

On March 29, 2007, Dr. Eric Keroack unexpectedly resigned, a mere five months after his appointment, citing an action taken against him by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Office of Medicaid.

November 20, 2006

The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt
Secretary of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201-0004

Dear Secretary Leavitt:

The undersigned organizations are writing to express our grave concern over the appointment of Dr. Eric Keroack as the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA). As you know, the DASPA oversees Title X, the nation's family planning program, which provides high-quality family planning and preventive health care services to over five million low-income individuals annually, helping them to avoid approximately one million unintended pregnancies each year. Dr. Keroack's public statements, writings, and professional associations demonstrate his opposition to contraception and nondirective health care. His positions are antithetical to the goals of the Title X program, are not based on sound science, and could jeopardize the health of millions of American women. Accordingly, we urge you to reconsider this appointment.

Dr. Keroack is currently the Medical Director for A Woman's Concern (AWC), six crisis pregnancy health centers in the Greater Boston area. Under Dr. Keroack's supervision, AWC health centers will not distribute, encourage the use of, or offer referrals for contraceptive drugs and devices. Moreover, AWC's website disparages the use of birth control as degrading to women; incorrectly characterizes traditional forms of birth control as abortifacients, and wrongly claims that the use of contraception increases pregnancy.¹

Furthermore, these centers are fundamentally designed to dissuade pregnant women from seeking abortions, in part through false and misleading information. By supporting biased counseling, Dr. Keroack rejects a long standing Title X requirement that women facing an unintended pregnancy be provided nondirective options counseling upon request - meaning neutral, factual information on prenatal care and delivery; infant care, foster care, or adoption; and pregnancy termination.

We strongly believe that Dr. Keroack's views are out of step with scientific evidence, the mandates of the Title X program, and the ninety-eight percent of American women who will use birth control during their reproductive lives. Clients seeking contraception, STD testing, information, and counseling have a right to expect health services that reflect sound public health goals rather than a political agenda.

Given that much of Dr. Keroack's career appears to have been dedicated to dissuading women from availing themselves of family planning services, we believe that Dr. Keroack would neither be inclined nor should he be trusted to carry out and enforce the goals of Title X.

For more than 35 years, the Title X program has been a hallmark of quality preventive health care, enabling public health practitioners to provide high-quality family planning services and other preventative health care to low-income or uninsured individuals who may otherwise lack access to health care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included family planning in its list of the "Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century."

In order to ensure that the mission of Title X remains intact, we strongly urge you to reconsider the appointment of Dr. Keroack as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs. American women deserve better.

Sincerely,

¹ http://partners.awomansconcern.org/images/misc/birth_control_policy.pdf

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