Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council comments about the selectivity of James Holsinger's moral evolution:When Dr. James Holsinger's [shown at right] name first appeared as a nominee for the mostly ceremonial position of Surgeon General alarm bells immediately went off. I was reminded he once testified in favor of cloning and human embryonic stem cell experimentation when he was the chancellor of the University of Kentucky's Medical Center. When we asked about his previous testimony we were told he has since changed his mind on the stem cell issue - yet we were offered no confirmation of this evolution.
This lack of conviction either way had me worried how he would handle Congressional questioning of a paper he had written over a decade ago on the very real health dangers of a homosexual lifestyle. In 1990 Dr. Holsinger argued that the sexes are anatomically complementary and that "when the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur." At his confirmation hearing yesterday Dr. Holsinger recanted his earlier statement, saying his views had "evolved" and that the issues he raised are not relevant in public health discussions today.
While not an expert in human anatomy, I am 100% sure that human beings have not "evolved" into asexual beings, as Dr. Holsinger's new comments would suggest. Dr. Holsinger's confirmation should not fail because of his views, but because of his seeming lack of conviction on any of them.
