Susan Orr

Last updated

We are certainly relieved that a known opponent of access to contraception like Dr. Susan Orr is resigning.... Health care providers should never be subject to political whims, yet here is another example of the Bush Administration attempting to put ideology ahead of sound science. [16]

Reaction to the appointment

Several groups reacted to Orr's 2001 comment while at the Family Research Council concerning the Bush administration's proposal to stop requiring federal employees health plans to cover five types of birth control: "We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease. It's not a medical necessity that you have it." [14] [17] The proposal was overturned by Congress. [18] The president of a family planning association said, "We have another appointment that just truly politicizes family planning", referring to the previous appointment to the Office of Population Affairs, Eric Keroack, a physician who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization opposed to the use of birth control. [3] He resigned in March to deal with an allegation by the Massachusetts Medicaid program against his private practice. [4] Senator Hillary Clinton said the appointment "sends a message to women that ideology trumps women's health." [14] Several other Democratic representatives along with Planned Parenthood came out against the appointment. [14] [19] Several members asked the HHS Secretary to withdraw the appointment. [20]

In support of the appointment, an HHS spokesperson said Orr's "breadth of programmatic and managerial experience makes her highly qualified to serve as acting director." [3] Additionally, she has been developing programs "that focus on preventing the abuse of children in troubled families, protecting children from abuse, and finding permanent placements for those who cannot safely return to their homes." In defense of her controversial 2001 comment, he said, she was supporting President Bush's policy. "As she said then, the policy allows freedom of conscience and freedom of choice. Practically speaking, workers should be able to choose what kind of coverage matters to them." [4] The Family Research Council said that she wanted to give employees the option to have a medical plan without family planning coverage, not to remove family planning for all. [10] The head of the conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute said, "From everything I know about Susan Orr and having worked with her on a number of issues, I think she would do fine in that position." He described her as a cultural conservative. [21]

Public health positions

Child protection

In 1999, while associated with the Reason Public Policy Institute, Orr published a series of endorsements for reforming child protection efforts. She recommended narrowing the definition of what is child abuse and neglect by restricting it to assault and serious neglect arguing that Child Protective Services (CPS) are "intruding into too many families' lives unnecessarily." She advocated moving investigations from CPS to police departments. She argued against helping the family "to attempt to repair or heal". Instead, she supported treating incidents only as a criminal matter. She called for the repeal of mandatory reporting requirements which require people who work with children to report suspicions of child abuse. She argued these laws encourage unnecessary reporting and discouraged neighbors from directly helping the troubled family. In the end, CPS would be involved only with voluntary services such as parenting advice and, further, should be privatized. [7]

Contraception

In 2001 Orr stated that she believes that because contraception is not a medical necessity health insurance plans should not be forced to cover it. [14] [17] In 2000, Orr wrote, concerning the lack of a "conscience clause" in a Washington D.C. municipal plan to force health insurers to cover contraception costs: "It's not about choice. It's not about health care. It's about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death." [19]

As of October 2007, Orr is on the board of directors of Teen Choice, a group calling for abstinence instead of contraception. [19]

Divorce

In a 2000 article in Washington Watch, a publication for the Family Research Council titled Real Women Stay Married, Orr argued that the majority of divorces are caused by women and called for them to recognize that only God can fulfill their lives. [22]

Abortion

In 2001, Orr hailed the Mexico City Policy that restricts non-governmental organizations who receive American tax dollars from providing or promoting abortion services. She was against approval of the abortifacient RU-486. [19]

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dr. Susan Orr". Administration for Children and Families. Archived from the original on 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  2. "About the Children's Bureau". Administration for Children and Families. Archived from the original on December 1, 2005. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Christopher (October 17, 2007). "Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning". Washington Post . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Meckler, Laura (October 16, 2007). "Contraception Foe Named to Contraception Post". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  5. 1 2 3 "About OPA". Office of Population Affairs. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  6. 1 2 "Bush Family Planning Appointee Who Called Contraceptives Part Of The 'Culture Of Death' Resigns". Think Progress. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  7. 1 2 Orr, Susan (October 1, 1999). "Child Protection at a Crossroads". Reason Public Policy Institute. Retrieved 2007-10-19.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. "About Regent University". Regent University . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  9. Orr, Susan (1995). Jerusalem and Athens: Reason and Revelation in the Work of Leo Strauss. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9780847680115 . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  10. 1 2 "Contraceptive Mandates Orr Else..." Family Research Council . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  11. Wald, Matthew L. (September 5, 2007). "Bush Chooses Transportation Nominee". New York Times . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  12. "Facts on Publicly Funded Contraceptive Services in the United States". Guttmacher Institute. February 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
  13. "Office of Family Planning". Office of Population Affairs. Archived from the original on 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Crary, David (October 18, 2007). "Family-Planning Appointment Denounced". Washington Post . Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  15. "Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs". Office of Population Affairs. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  16. "Statement on the Resignation of Dr. Susan Orr and Possible Changes to Title X". The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. 2008-05-21. Archived from the original on 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  17. 1 2 Nakashima, Ellen (April 12, 2001). "Cut in Birth Control Benefit Of Federal Workers Sought". Washington Post . Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  18. "The History of Contraceptive Equity". Planned Parenthood. Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Morgan, David (October 18, 2007). "Birth Control Foe To Head Family Planning". CBS News . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  20. "Lawmakers Ask HHS Secretary Leavitt To Withdraw Appointment of Orr as Acting Head of Family Planning Programs". Kaiser Permanente. October 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  21. Vasoli, Bradley (October 19, 2007). "President Taps Advocate Of Chastity For Post". The Bulletin. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  22. Orr, Susan (June 2000). "Real Women Stay Married". Family Research Council . Retrieved 2007-10-19.
Susan Orr
Susan Orr.jpg
Former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs
In office
2007–2008