Gay Groups Blast 1991 Paper By Surgeon General Nominee
LEXINGTON, Ky. _ In 1991, Dr. James W. Holsinger _ a University of Kentucky professor who is President Bush’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general _ wrote a paper arguing that gay sex is biologically unnatural and unhealthy.
Like male and female pipe fittings, certain male and female body parts are designed for each other, Holsinger wrote in a paper prepared for a United Methodist Church committee studying homosexuality. “When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur,” Holsinger wrote in the paper, titled Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality.
The paper was released earlier this week by the Human Rights Campaign, a national group that advocates for gay and lesbian rights. UK spokeswoman Mary Margaret Colliver confirmed that Holsinger had written the paper. Holsinger declined to comment for this story, as he has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The paper adds to the growing controversy over Holsinger’s views on gays. Last week, several groups expressed concern because of decisions dealing with gays and lesbians that Holsinger helped make as a member of the United Methodist Judicial Council, which rules on disputes involving church doctrine and policy.
In addition, a Lexington church that Holsinger helped found, Hope Springs Community Church, has a ministry dedicated to helping gay people who want to become heterosexual.
The Human Rights Campaign opposes Holsinger’s nomination. Two other national groups, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and AIDS Action, also voiced their objections yesterday.
“Dr. Holsinger has a track record of anti-gay sentiments,” said Ronald Johnson, deputy director of AIDS Action. “We feel that his views on homosexuality will infuse and guide his policies and direction as surgeon general.”
Holsinger’s colleagues at the University of Kentucky were surprised to learn of the views expressed in the 1991 paper. They said his personal objections to homosexuality _ if he had any _ would not affect policy decisions as surgeon general.
They pointed to a 2002 incident in which Holsinger, then chancellor of the UK Medical Center, defended a session on lesbian health issues at a women’s health conference over the objection of two state senators. The senators threatened to withhold funding because of the 90-minute session.
Phyllis Nash, who organized the conference, said Holsinger did not have to be persuaded to defend the session. “He basically said we are obligated as individuals to meet the needs of everyone, regardless of orientation.”
At the time, Holsinger defended the session in a Lexington Herald-Leader article. “It’s important to educate health care professionals on the issues that surround lesbians,” he said. “It’s important professionals have the knowledge base to do care for these patients in a quality manner.”
Nash, who worked with Holsinger for nine years, said the views in the 1991 paper were “not congruent with anything I saw in his professional life.”
Dr. Douglas Scutchfield, a professor at UK’s College of Public Health, said Holsinger knew how to separate his role as a physician from his role in the church.
“Dr. Holsinger’s concern is people and people’s health,” Scutchfield said. “His position on things is based on the science of health and disease, not on any moral or health issue.”
It’s that issue that has gay and lesbian groups concerned. The surgeon general has the power to influence policy and how regular people think, said Dr. Joel Ginsberg, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, based in San Francisco.
The 1991 paper is especially troubling, he said.
“He’s pathologizing homosexual practices to make a point,” Ginsberg said. “And we think that’s inappropriate scientifically.”
The paper was written for a Methodist study committee, which was considering whether the church should change its view that homosexuality violates Christian teaching. In the paper, Holsinger uses studies showing higher rates of sexually transmitted disease in gay men and the likelihood of injury from anal sex to argue that homosexuality isn’t natural.
Holsinger quit the Methodist study committee on homosexuality soon after he submitted the paper. According to a 1991 article in Time Magazine, he “felt certain its conclusions would follow liberal lines.”
The committee, however, did not change the United Methodist Church’s official position. The denomination does not condone homosexuality and it considers its practice “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
___
(Staff writer Art Jester and news researcher Linda Niemi contributed to this story.)
___
(c) 2007, Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.).
Visit Kentucky Connect, the World Wide Web site of the Herald-Leader, at http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.