NYT article fails to tell the whole truth on Tom Coburn

[BlueScreen]

I normally value the New York Times for attempting to fight the Foxification of mainstream news. For their efforts, they have incurred the undying hatred of the right. I could not believe, however, that in their article profiling Dr. Tom Coburn (R), who is running a tight race for one of Oklahoma's senate seats, they did not mention this even once.

For those who don't know, Coburn is embroiled in a scandal surrounding an operation he performed on a woman named Angela Plummer in 1990. Plummer's pregnancy was not going well. The fetus she was carrying had lodged in her fallopian tubes, and it was Dr. Coburn's job to remove the tube in question. Without her consent, he decided to remove both fallopian tubes, rendering her unable to have children ever again.

This fits nicely into Coburn's worldview. A radical antiabortionist, Coburn favors the death sentence for doctors who provide abortion services. He has also distinguished himself within the realm of sexual politics by making wild-eyed accusations about how homosexuals control the Center for Disease Control, and that the number one issue facing our country is not terror, or Iraq, but "the gay agenda".

Salon first broke the Plummer story without disclosing her identity. Plummer later went public with her story and was published in the Washington Post:

Dr. Tom Coburn sterilized me without my consent -- verbal or written -- and I know he's stating that he got oral consent. That is not true," Plummer said at a news conference. "I'm not up here to smear him. I'm up here because I wanted to have more children, and he took that away from me.

Coburn has admitted to failing to obtain Plummer's written consent for sterilization at the time, but claims she provided verbal consent, in contravention of state medical rules.

Nowhere in the Times' article on Coburn was the Plummer story mentioned. I hope you will join me in voicing your concern to this disturbing omission by contacting the Editor at:

[e-mail]

or faxing at: 212-556-3622.

Letters for publication should be no longer than 150 words, must refer to an article that has appeared within the last seven days, and must include the writer's address and phone numbers. No attachments, please.

Here is the original article in the Times (free registration required): http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/politics/campaign/19repubs.html?pagewanted=1

Here is the original article in Salon with Plummer's name withheld: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/13/coburn/index.html

And here is the Washington Post's article after Plummer came forward: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27269-2004Sep16.html

Let's him them hard!

Sagar