White House considers religious activist for FDA panel. (In The Capital).

The Bush administration indicated in October that it is prepared to nominate a controversial Kentucky doctor to head a Food and Drug Administration panel on women's health policy.

The move to name W. David Hager, a University of Kentucky obstetrics professor, prompted an outcry from many groups that believe he has an extreme religious agenda and is unqualified for the post.

Hager is perhaps best known for writing Stress and the Woman's Body, which puts "an emphasis on the restorative power of Jesus Christ in one's life." Hager's book, which he co-wrote with his wife, recommends reading specific portions of the Bible to help treat headaches, eating disorders and premenstrual syndrome.

Other writings indicate that Hager is opposed to prescribing contraceptives to single women and that he believes it is "dangerous" to separate one's life into "categories of Christian truth and secular truth."

Hager has worked with the Christian Medical Association to fight access to RU-486, a pill that induces abortion in the early weeks of pregnancy, and since 1992 has served on Focus on the Family's Physician Resource Council. Hager's background prompted New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd to say, "His resume seems more impressive for theology than gynecology."

A report in Time also questioned Hager's qualifications as a physician. While his resume lists his teaching position at the University of Kentucky, a university official told the magazine that Hager works part-time with interns at Lexington's Central Baptist Hospital, and that he receives no compensation from the university.

If Hager chairs the 11-member FDA committee, he will have a leadership role in studying hormone-replacement therapy, which would include access to birth-control pills and RU-486.