Pro-life OBGYN and former Care Net pregnancy center director Diane Foley was appointed as the Health and Human Services deputy assistant secretary for population affairs on May 29, 2018. HHS praised Dr. Foley for her “long and distinguished career working in the healthcare and the public health arenas.”
“Dr. Foley’s areas of special interest are adolescent gynecology, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, healthy family formation, and global health,” according to her HHS bio. She served as the Director of Medical Ministries for Global Partners of the Wesleyan Church where she oversaw mission hospitals in multiple countries.
She also served for 13 years at Life Network, a Care Net affiliated pregnancy center in Colorado Springs, CO. She spent seven years as the center’s Director of Education for a Lifetime outreach where she was instrumental in developing the center’s sexual risk avoidance curriculum and training presenters. The program now reaches more than 8,000 teens annually.
Dr. Foley also served as Life Network’s President and CEO from 2012 through 2016. She is remembered there for her passion for medical and organizational excellence.
“Diane’s passion for the health of women, students and the unborn in particular is evident across how she’s spent her career – first as a long-time pediatrician and then in her roles at Life Network. We couldn’t be more thrilled for her, and the positive implications a physician of her caliber will have for the health and wellness of our country,” said Life Network’s current president Rich Bennett. Bennett served on the Board with Dr. Foley during her tenure as president.
Care Net specialist and former Pregnancy Center Director Yvonne Williams also worked closely with Dr. Foley and told Care Net, “Diane was willing to help every PRC in Colorado and elsewhere. At state conferences she would lead workshops and spent as much time as wanted to help Directors with their unique questions.”
One of Dr. Foley’s primary HHS responsibilities will be overseeing Title X Family Planning funds, according to Pregnancy Help News.
Just a week prior to Dr. Foley’s appointment, HHS announced a proposed update to Title X funding which would allocate funding to organizations that neither perform nor refer for abortion. The proposed changes are available for public comment through July 31.