Green Party opposes confirmation of antigay doctor as Surgeon
General
Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
June 13, 2007
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
WASHINGTON, DC -- Leaders of the Lavender Green Caucus and the Green Party of the United States urged Congress not to confirm Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. as Surgeon General, calling his views on homosexuality discriminatory, unprofessional, and potentially damaging to the health care needs of millions of Americans.
"Congress must take into account Dr. Holsinger's biased and hostile attitude towards gay people, which will affect his ability to make fair decisions about AIDS, sex education and disease prevention as well as other health concerns of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans," said Alison Duncan, the New York State Green Party's 2006 candidate for Lt. Governor. Ms. Duncan was the first openly gay candidate for a gubernatorial position in the state's history. "Dr. Holsinger has spread gross misinformation about homosexuality, using his status as a doctor to promote a bigoted political ideology. His views are well outside of the mainstream medical community. His nomination is as offensive to the health care community as it is to the LGBT community."
Greens cited Dr. Holsinger's article "The Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality," written in January 1991 for a United Methodist Church study on homosexuality, calling the article an expression of profound and willful ignorance, not just on gay men, but on human sexuality in general.
"President Bush's choice of Dr. Holsinger for Surgeon General is consistent with his administration's policy of misrepresenting scientific research and subordinating public health to the demands of ideology," said Lavender Green Caucus member Rev. Dan Rodriguez Schlorff, who serves Broadway United Methodist Church (Chicago, Illinois) as Candidate for Authorized Ministry. "Dr. Holsinger will do to medical policy, especially policies affecting AIDS and sexuality, what the White House has done to federally funded research on global warming -- censoring and distorting science that doesn't fit the Bush agenda."
"Congress members should have learned a lesson from the confirmations of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, which lead to a major ruling restricting the reproductive rights of women that was based on a principle that women have no rights to make decisions about their own lives. Justices Roberts and Alito were confirmed with a significant number of Democratic yeas," Rev. Rodriguez Schlorff added.
The Lavender Green Caucus <http://www.lavendergreens.us>
represents gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex, and queer members of the Green Party. The party's national platform embraces full rights and equality regardless of sexual orientation, including same-sex marriage rights and support for legislation ending discrimination in employment, housing, civil marriage, medical benefits, and child custody <http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#999079>.
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