Obama Selects Kansas Governor for HHS

By Christine Cupaiuolo — March 1, 2009

President Obama has selected Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for secretary of Health & Human Services. A formal announcement will be made Monday.

It’s safe to assume Sebelius has incredibly well-kept and untainted tax records — Obama’s original pick, former Sen. Tom Daschle, withdrew in early February after questions were raised about back payment of taxes.

Sebelius, a two-term governor who comes from a political family, has drawn praise for her bipartisan approach to legislation (more political coverage). Yet abortion opponents have promised to fight her confirmation because she has repeatedly vetoed legislation restricting abortion access. (They’re also a wee-bit dramatic when it comes to the Sebelius’ connections to abortion provider Dr. George Tiller.)

Julie Burkhart explains all, including what gets overlooked in the debate:

What is true and what the anti-choice advocates don’t like is that Governor Sebelius is unequivocally pro-reproductive health care. But, that does not mean abortion care alone. What they choose to ignore is that she is a strong advocate for the health care of children, for prenatal care for women and for preventive medicine. This, unfortunately, gets lost in the debate.

The selection came just in time for Obama’s health summit at the White House this week.

In her role at HHS, Sebelius would also oversee the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Obama has not named anyone to run either agency.

One response to “Obama Selects Kansas Governor for HHS”

  1. Thank for the news on Obama’s selection. I want to suggest that Our Bodies Our Ourselves should not already be used at the subject line, but rather a Caption like Obama Selects Kansas Governor for HHS to attract more readership since the newsletter is already Our Bodies Our Ourselves .

    Thanks

    Felix Ukam

    CHEDRES, Calabar Nigeria

Comments are closed.