Who is heading up FDA's Women's Office?

Former director of the FDA's Office of Women's Health, Susan Wood, resigned recently over the agency's bullshit stalling on emergency contraception. And who did they replace her with?

Norris Alderson--a veterinarian. Yeah, that's right.

After a well-justified what-the-fuck response from folks on the web and elsewhere, the FDA is now saying that Theresa A. Toigo will be new acting director of the office. Alderson? Alderson who?

The FDA is doing a less than stellar job covering their tracks:

Asked yesterday who exactly was running the office, FDA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said that Alderson had never been appointed acting director. She said that Toigo would take over from the departed Wood, and that her office knew nothing about the statement regarding Alderson, who is the agency's associate commissioner for science.

"There was no official decision made until we announced Theresa Toigo's appointment on Friday," Trevino said.

The seeming mystery thickened when several women's groups said that not only did they receive e-mails announcing Alderson's appointment, but also that he was also listed on a Health and Human Services directory last week as the acting director of the office. In addition, people who have spoken with women's health office staff said that Alderson was introduced to the staff last week as the new acting director, and that he even had some one-on-one discussions with staff members about future plans.

Yeah, real mysterious.

Let�s hope the confusion is over. Toigo is a 20-year veteran of the FDA and thankfully has more experience with women than with animals:

Toigo has led the FDA's Office of Special Health Issues, which works with patient advocates on issues such as AIDS and cancer. The FDA announcement of her appointment also says that she has worked with the women's health office on agency initiatives related to the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical trials.