A controversial Lexington physician said yesterday he does not expect to be appointed to a third term on a federal Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on reproductive health.
In an interview, Dr. W. David Hager also challenged claims by his ex-wife in a national magazine that he was abusive during their marriage.
"I will no longer be on the advisory committee after June 30," Hager said. He indicated the decision was made before the allegations surfaced.[F6 comment -- yah, right]
Yesterday, Hager, who was appointed by the Bush administration to the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee, questioned the motives of his ex-wife and the liberal monthly. He said the article -- which includes graphic details about their sex life together -- was "not based on all of the facts."
"As I said before, the allegations as stated do not reveal all of the information and therefore they're incomplete and not true," the obstetrician-gynecologist said. [F6 comment -- now THERE'S a stong denial (. . .)]
"No one likes to be criticized, no one likes to be torn apart privately or publicly and I think that it's disappointing that my former wife has chosen this avenue to vent her anger and bitterness."
Hager has long been a target of groups who dislike his conservative Christian views and opposition to abortion. Many of those groups vigorously fought his appointment to the FDA board in 2002.
The White House declined to comment on whether Hager will be reappointed. "We don't speculate on personnel announcements," said White House spokesman Taylor Gross.
Hager's ex-wife has changed her name to Linda Davis. She is now a Georgia Methodist minister's wife. Reached yesterday, she said "every detail" of the story in The Nation is accurate.
"The Bible says that it's the truth that sets you free, so that's part of my decision to speak the truth," she said.
The issue wasn't raised in the couple's 2002 divorce paperwork in Fayette County.
Asked why the issue had been raised now, she said, "I felt that there needed to be some public accountability for these actions."
Brenda Bartella Peterson, who served briefly as the Democratic National Committee's religious outreach adviser, had urged Davis to tell her story and helped put her in contact with The Nation's writer.
"I'm just so proud of her, that she finally had the courage to tell her story," said Peterson, a former Central Kentucky resident and one of Davis' longtime friends.
Peterson says she wasn't surprised by the allegations.
"She has told me about it through the years, but other than be her friend there was nothing I could do," Peterson said. The Democratic activist denied any political motive, saying, "It's not about politics. It's about a woman who was abused."
Supporters say Hager is under attack because of his political views and his faith.
"This is trash journalism," said Carrie Gordon-Earll, a senior policy analyst for Focus on the Family.[F6 comment -- damn straight, Carrie -- that's telling 'em!] "It's an ugly divorce that's being used for political gain. This has been a concerted effort on the left to discredit him and have him removed from a place of influence."
In addition to being a doctor, Hager is a University of Kentucky professor and serves as vice chair of Asbury College's Board of Trustees. An adviser to influential Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, Hager chaired evangelist Franklin Graham's Lexington revival and wrote health-related books with an evangelical bent. [F6 comment -- birds of a feather . . .]
As a member of the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee, Hager vigorously opposed efforts to make Plan B -- an emergency contraception pill -- available without a prescription.
The Nation article, and a story in the Washington Post yesterday [F6 note -- at http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=6347558 ], also say that Hager, in an October sermon at Asbury College in Wilmore, took credit for helping to prevent the Plan B contraceptive from being approved for over-the-counter use.
Although the committee voted 23-4 to approve the pill, Hager said in the sermon that he sent a minority memo criticizing the decision, and the FDA ultimately rejected the panel's recommendation. According to the articles in The Nation and the Post, Hager told the Asbury crowd, "Once again, what Satan meant for evil, God turned into good."
In an interview yesterday, Hager downplayed his part in the FDA's decision.
"I don't know what my role was.[F6 comment -- yah, right -- as v. his claim in his little sermon that he believed his memo played a central role] I voted with the minority and I did send a letter with a minority opinion to the FDA," he said. Who asked him to send it? "I can't reveal that," he said.[F6 comment -- hmmm -- compare and contrast (from the Washington Post article at http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=6347558 ) -- < In an e-mail to The Washington Post, Hager said the request for the report came from "outside the agency," but he had previously told two other journalists -- in one case in an e-mail that the recipient saved -- that the request came from an FDA staff member. An FDA spokeswoman said yesterday that the agency did not ask Hager to write a report and that Hager sent what she called a "private citizen letter" to Commissioner Mark McClellan. "We don't ask for minority reports and opinions," she said. "I've been advised that nobody from the FDA asked him to write the letter." >]
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