NEWS

Abstinence activist to head US

“ is really modern germ secretary for the DHHS, declared in a written warfare,” read the PowerPoint slide presented at statement. “[He] has developed extensive first- a 2003 abstinence conference by Eric Keroack. hand knowledge of the needs of young pregnant Considering the source, this wasn’t surprising. women and teen parents and has almost 20 years’ Keroack, a Boston-area gynecologist and ardent experience in meeting those needs,” Agwunobi opponent, had long been making the said. rounds on the right-to-life circuit, where he The DHHS has refused to make Keroack promotes the theory—based partly on research available for interviews. “We usually let folks in prairie voles—that premarital sex depletes the get their feet on the ground and get settled in hormone oxytocin, impairing young people’s for a time in their position before putting them ability to form the social bonds needed for a before the media,” explained a spokesman. stable marriage. Never mind that Elias Zerhouni was quoted What is surprising is Keroack’s appointment in in the media on the explosive issue of stem November to become the Bush administration’s cells before he was sworn in as director of the top family-planning official. National Institutes of Health, which falls under As deputy assistant secretary of population DHHS purview. Or that Surgeon General affairs at the US Department of Health and nominee Richard Carmona discussed AIDS and Eric Keroack, the Human Services (DHHS), Keroack will oversee a terrorism publicly with the Senate committee new US family $283 million budget that funds the government’s poised to pass muster on his nomination. planning chief, http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine only program dedicated to family planning. Keroack, 46, a Tufts Medical School graduate, advocates chastity. Called Title X, it has, since 1970, been providing was until recently medical director of A Woman’s

counseling, contraceptives, abortion referrals Concern, a network of six pregnancy counseling Eugene Louie/San Jose Mercury News/KRT and screening services—from Pap smears to centers in eastern . The centers HIV tests—to poor women. It serves about 5 oppose contraception and advise abstinence His appointment has outraged reproductive million women each year. until marriage. They do provide ultrasound rights groups. “Dr. Keroack is a highly qualified and well- scanning, which Keroack has used to dissuade “This country needs someone in charge of respected physician,” John Agwunobi, assistant pregnant women from having . the nation’s family planning programs who is an advocate for family planning,” says Elizabeth Toledo, vice president of communications for Australia embraces cloning research the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Nature Publishing Group Group Nature Publishing

7 which runs 860 health centers nationwide. “Dr. Australian scientists will be able to apply for system where party-line voting is the norm. Keroack’s appointment threatens the health 200 a license to undertake therapeutic cloning Studies will be administered by the of the nation’s poorest women and we think it © research from mid-2007. National Health and Medical Research should be withdrawn immediately.” On 6 December, Australia’s House of Council, the main source of funding for After the elections in November, when Representatives voted 82 to 62 in favor medical research in Australia. Licensing Democrats took control of the Congress, “We of a bill legalizing the creation of human guidelines and procedures are expected to would have hoped that the Bush administration’s embryos by somatic cell nuclear transfer and be finalized by July 2007, when at least five practice of choosing ideology over competence the harvesting of embryonic stem cells for research institutions are expected to submit would have been over,” adds Sean Tipton, research purposes. applications. a spokesman for the American Society for The new law is a welcome move for The law allows for the creation of human Reproductive Medicine, which represents 8,500 Australian scientists, some of whom were embryos other than by fertilization of a medical professionals. rumored to be looking offshore for more human egg by a human sperm, stipulating These groups and 24 others signed a 20 supportive government regulations. In their that these embryos must not be implanted November letter to DHHS Secretary Michael campaign for the reforms, scientists avoided into a woman and must be destroyed after Leavitt, demanding Keroack’s ouster. the term ‘therapeutic cloning’ to prevent any 14 days. The normally staid American College of confusion with reproductive cloning. A previous version also allowed for the Obstetricians and Gynecologists also weighed “We used the term ‘somatic cell nuclear creation of chimeras—created by inserting in with its own letter, saying, “We urge this transfer’ so that we could then describe human DNA into enucleated animal individual to advocate a wide range of family specifically what the technique was,” says eggs—but a Senate amendment outlawed planning policies.” Stephen Livesey, chief executive officer of the such research. Predictably, Keroack’s appointment has Australian Stem Cell Centre. “I found that if The bill mandates licenses for therapeutic pleased the constituency at which it was aimed. you started off with ‘therapeutic cloning’, you cloning, with a penalty of imprisonment “We think he’s a good choice,” says Wendy couldn’t get to the explanation.” for up to ten years for creating an embryo Wright, president of Concerned Women for The bill passed the Senate in November without a license and up to five years for America, an activist group whose mission is “to by the finest margin—34 to 32. working with such an embryo without a protect and promote Biblical values among all Parliamentarians in both chambers were license. citizens.” allowed a conscience vote, a rare freedom in a Simon Grose, Canberra Meredith Wadman, Washington DC

NATURE MEDICINE VOLUME 13 | NUMBER 1 | JANUARY 2007 5