Washington, DC -- Reports that a pro-life obstetrician and gynecologist from Kentucky is the front-runner to lead a federal Food and Drug Administration committee are inaccurate, a federal official said yesterday.

Several media sources have reported that Dr. W. David Hager, a well-known doctor with one of Lexington Kentucky's largest OB-GYN practices, is the leading contender for chairman of the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Pro-abortion critics question his professional and scientific credentials even though Hager's colleagues say he's a valuable resource to the medical community.

But Bill Pierce, a Health and Human Services spokes-man, said yesterday that Hager is under consideration for one of the 11 vacant committee seats, not yet the chairmanship. From those 11 members, a chair will be appointed by the FDA commissioner, or that person's designee, according to the committee's charter.

"Someone leaked this information because they didn't want Dr. Hager appointed," Pierce said, adding that the FDA looks for geographic diversity, experience and "breadth and depth of thought" in choosing committee members.

Hager, who practices at the Women's Care Center, did not respond to interview requests and referred calls to Pierce.

The committee is one of hundreds that advises the FDA, but it is generating attention in part because it is the one that encouraged the Clinton administration to allow the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug.

Hager is a well-respected physician -- and a high-profile Christian.

In August, he represented the 17,000-member Christian Medical Association, which was among several groups that urged the FDA to shelve RU-486 (Mifeprex) because of safety concerns. The drug has been approved for use in the United States since 2000.

Since 1992, Hager has been on the Physician Resource Council for Focus on the Family, a Christian outreach organization founded by Dr. James Dobson. He also led the committee that brought evangelist Franklin Graham to Lexington in 2000.

Those who know Hager defend his credentials and ethics as critics point to Hager's authorship of books that blend spirituality and medicine. Dr. Emery Wilson, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, sent a letter to Time taking issue with this week's article, which appeared to question whether Hager is actually a UK professor, as his resume' states. Hager has been a UK professor since 1991, directing UK's OB-GYN
residents at Central Baptist Hospital.

"He's certainly qualified," Wilson said, adding that Hager is an excellent clinical physician and has conducted and published more scientific research than most doctors in private practice. Hager's resume' lists 41 published medical journal articles, the most recent a 2001 article about prevention of Group B streptococcal infections published in Contemporary OB/GYN.

He also has written 14 book chapters. Most of them were written for medical textbooks, and many are about obstetric and breast infections and sexually transmitted diseases. He has edited or co-written six books, including a leading text on infection protocols.

Dr. Paul DePriest, an OB/GYN and associate chief of staff at UK Hospital, said he and other doctors often turn to Hager when they have questions about infectious diseases.

"He is known by people throughout the country," DePriest said.

Hager is well-known for advocating abstinence and the prospect of Hager wielding national influence on pregnancy issues has angered some.

"We just think all women should have access to the health care they need and the options they need," said Debbie Blair, executive director of Planned Parenthood of the Bluegrass. "His past practices have not coincided with that."

"His views are extremely disconcerting," said Beth Wilson, director of the Reproductive Freedom Project for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. "He promotes what I think of as an anti-woman agenda. ... He's well-known in the Right to Life movement."

People who know him say that Hager does not consider his views to be extreme, and that he doesn't force them on others.

"I always thought that he handled his religious beliefs well," said Dr. Frank Miller, a longtime UK OB-GYN and a past national president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"He's getting trashed because of his beliefs," said Dr. David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical Association. Stevens, a Kentucky native and Hager's longtime friend, said Hager's national profile has increased in the past several years.

A national post wouldn't be unprecedented for him. Earlier this year, Hager became a member of two federal health advisory committees -- a CDC panel on sexually transmitted diseases and cervical cancer and an advisory committee for women's services with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services administration.

Stevens said that Hager did not solicit the FDA post.

Ruth Ann Childers, spokeswoman for Central Baptist Hospital, said Hager was contacted by Linda Arey Skaladany, an FDA senior associate commissioner who develops lists of nominees for committees.

"She nominated him based on his credentials," Childers said. "He's never met her [and] doesn't know her."