A veterinarian appointed to the Office of Women's Health - FDA

I've seen this bumping around for days, but hadn't come across a credible source, .... til today. I first saw the stories two days ago, but the mentions on the .gov websites were removed so all that was left were copies and screen saves, not hugely credible. But the WaPo picked it up, so the FDA wasn't able to make it go away. Here it is. Brace yourself.

The Bush administration tried to appoint a verterinarian to head the FDA's Office of Women's Health. This is a pretty big post, so I don't know what the hell they were thinking. Click the link, it's freakin' unbelievable.

One week ago, the Office of Women's Health of the Food and Drug Administration sent an e-mail notice to women's groups and others announcing the appointment of Norris Alderson as its new acting director.

An FDA veteran trained in animal husbandry who spent much of his career in the agency's Center for Veterinary Medicine, Alderson quickly became the subject of active and largely negative comment on the Internet and elsewhere.

The Office of Women's Health serves as a liaison with women's health groups and as an advocate on women's issues; critics said that a man with a primarily veterinary background could not properly fill the role.

The last director, Susan Wood, resigned last month to protest the agency's unwillingness to make a decision on whether to make emergency contraception more easily available.