| Revision as of 10:45, 25 March 2005 editViriditas (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers169,616 editsm →Controversy: fix spacing← Previous edit | Revision as of 11:09, 25 March 2005 edit undoViriditas (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers169,616 editsm →Breast Implants: +Breast Cancer Research journal articleNext edit → | ||
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| ===Breast Implants=== | ===Breast Implants=== | ||
| In January, 2005, during a ] discussion about class-action lawsuits and silicone ], '']'' quoted Coburn as stating: "You know, I immediately thought about silicone breast implants and the legal wrangling and the class-action suits off that. And I thought I would just share with you what science says today about silicone breast implants. If you have them, you're healthier than if you don't. That is what the ultimate science shows...In fact, there's no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier." | In January, 2005, during a ] discussion about class-action lawsuits and silicone ], '']'' quoted Coburn as stating: "You know, I immediately thought about silicone breast implants and the legal wrangling and the class-action suits off that. And I thought I would just share with you what science says today about silicone breast implants. If you have them, you're healthier than if you don't. That is what the ultimate science shows...In fact, there's no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier." | ||
| While there is no evidence that breast implants make one healthier, Coburn may have been distorting the conclusions of a December, 2004 study published in the journal, ''Breast Cancer Research''. | |||
| ===Global warming=== | ===Global warming=== | ||
Revision as of 11:09, 25 March 2005
Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948) is a politician and U.S. Senator from the state of Oklahoma.
Early life
Coburn was born in Casper, Wyoming and graduated from Oklahoma State University. He was a physician, and a deacon in the Southern Baptist Church, until he ran for the House of Representatives as a Republican. Coburn faced a 71-year-old former principal, and defeated him by a 52%-48% margin.
Political career
In 1997, Coburn introduced an amendment (H.R. 1026) to the Social Security Act called the HIV Prevention Act of 1997. The amendment proposed a number of situations where HIV tests would be mandated or available on request and that all results of HIV tests be made available to state officials.
As a Congressman, Coburn opposed abortion and the V-chip. He kept his pledge to serve only three terms and left the house in 2001. He also earned a reputation as a maverick due to his constant battles with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Most of these stand-offs stemmed from his belief that the Republican caucus was straying from the Contract With America that had swept them into power in 1994. Specifically, Coburn was upset that term limits had not been implemented and that Republicans were continuing the pork politics they had opposed under Democratic rule.
Coburn wrote "Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders" in 2003. The book details his perspective on the intraparty debates over the Contract With America and displays his disdain for career politicians.
Coburn defeated Brad Carson to win Oklahoma's open U.S. Senate seat in the November 2004 election. Coburn allegedly declared the race to be one between good and evil.
Controversy
Abortion
In 2000, Coburn sponsored a bill to prevent the FDA from developing, testing or approving RU-486. On July 13, the bill failed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 182 to 187. In 2004, Coburn said: "I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life." Coburn, a former obstetrician-gynecologist, has admitted to performing two abortions on women with heart disease. Coburn also objects to legal abortion in cases of rape, and he justifies his position by noting that his great-grandmother was raped by a sheriff.
Allegation of unauthorized medical procedure
It has been alleged that Coburn sterilized a woman without her consent on November 7, 1990 resulting in a civil malpractice suit. Coburn contends that he had her oral consent, but he did not obtain written consent. Coburn admitted that he performed the same procedure on "lots" of women. He also admitted during testimony that he charged Medicaid for the procedure, although the patient was under the age of 21. Under the applicable funding rules, the sterilization would have been ineligible for reimbursement even though it was administered as part of the same procedure (termination of an ectopic pregnancy) which saved the patient's life. The suit was ultimately dismissed with no finding of liability on Coburn's part.
Breast Implants
In January, 2005, during a Senate Judiciary Committee discussion about class-action lawsuits and silicone breast implants, The Washington Post quoted Coburn as stating: "You know, I immediately thought about silicone breast implants and the legal wrangling and the class-action suits off that. And I thought I would just share with you what science says today about silicone breast implants. If you have them, you're healthier than if you don't. That is what the ultimate science shows...In fact, there's no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier."
While there is no evidence that breast implants make one healthier, Coburn may have been distorting the conclusions of a December, 2004 study published in the journal, Breast Cancer Research.
Global warming
During his run for the U. S. Senate, Tom Coburn was quoted as saying that there was, "....no hard evidence to support global warming." Coburn called global warming, "just a lot of crap."
Homophobia
According to The American Prospect during Coburn's 2004 senatorial campaign in Oklahoma, Coburn remarked that in the town of Colgate, Oklahoma, lesbianism was "so rampant in some of the schools...that they'll let only one girl go to the bathroom." Coburn has also been quoted as saying: "The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power ... That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That's a gay agenda." Rep. Barney Frank, a gay Massachusetts Democrat, described Coburn as, "a lunatic and a wacko who lives in a parallel universe."
Schindler's List
As a congressman, Coburn protested NBC's airing of the movie Schindler's List. Coburn said in airing the movie NBC had taken television "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity". He also said the broadcast should outrage parents and decent-minded individuals everywhere. Coburn described the airing of Schindler's List as, "...irresponsible sexual behavior...I cringe when I realize that there were children all across this nation watching this program."
Conservatives William Bennett and Jack Kemp criticized Coburn's remarks. Kemp described Coburn's statement as "a huge mistake" and Bennett called them "very unfortunate and foolish". Sen. Alfonse D'Amato said: "To equate the nudity of Holocaust victims in the concentration camps with any sexual connotation is outrageous and offensive. I'm particularly embarrassed they were made by a member of my own party."
External links
- Coburn campaign website
- "Medicine man" - Salon.com, Sept. 13, 2004