To: Tate Reeves, Lieutenant Govenor, The Mississippi State Senate, and Governor Phil Bryant
NO to Terri Herring on the MS Board of Public Health
Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.
We, the people of Mississippi call on the MS State Senate to refuse to appoint Terri Herring to the Mississippi Board of Public Health. She is entirely unqualified for the position, without the requisite education or training and with extremist views on public health issues that will result in great adverse health consequences to the people of Mississippi. This position should be occupied by a public health care professional or someone with formal training and experience in the public health care field, not someone without this vital and necessary training.
Why is this important?
Governor Phil Bryant has just appointed Terri Herring, a major Personhood proponent to the MS Board of Public Health, she now must be confirmed by the MS State Senate. Terri Herring, an extremist, who is out of touch with mainstream Mississippi and utterly unqualified in the field of public health should not be appointed to the MS Board of Public Health. This position is too important and her appoint to this board jeopardizes the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Mississippi who will be effected by the policies of this board.
From the Jackson Free Press:
"Gov. Phil Bryant has nominated staunch pro-life activist Terri Herring, national director for the Pro-Life America Network, to sit on the Mississippi Board of Public Health.
The 11-member board, according to its website, provides policy direction for the Mississippi Department of Health, appoints a state health officer to operate the agency; approves the state health plan; and approves all rules and regulations of the agency.
Most of the board members are doctors and nurses. All of them are gubernatorial appointees that serve for six years.
Herring, who apparently has no medical background, would replace Dr. Ellen P. Williams.
Last year, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves blocked Gov. Haley Barbour's nomination to the board, OB/GYN Dr. Carl Reddix, because of Reddix' tenuous ties to the Jackson Women's Health Organization.
The Senate will hold nominating hearings, which are open to the public, next week."
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs/jackblog/2013/mar/27/bryant-nominates-terri-herring/
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From the Clarion Ledger:
"Said Sen. Debbie Dawkins, D-Pass Christian: “I’m not sure if she knows what happens when a sperm and egg unite. I’m not unbiased. When I worked in the ER – I was a surgical technician – back before Roe vs. Wade, we would see people come in, with coat hanger situations or worse.”
Dawkins said agency boards need people willing to compromise, not divisive figures.
Her nomination comes one year after the ouster of State Board of Health member Dr. Carl Reddix, an OB-GYN, because of his loose affiliation with the Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Reddix was appointed by then-Gov. Haley Barbour and had been serving on the board since mid 2011. But when Barbour submitted his name for nomination in the 2012 session before leaving office, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves blocked it.
Reeves had cited concerns about Reddix’s association with the abortion clinic, saying he wanted a qualified physician instead.
A Mississippi native, Reddix earned his medical degree from Tufts University, his master’s degree from Harvard, and did his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He didn’t work for the clinic but provided emergency care for its patients in case of post-procedure difficulties.
Herring’s qualfications weren’t immediately available, but she has been an ardent opponent of the abortion clinic and a staunch supporter of the Personhood amendment."