Reagan Nominates Bowen to Replace Heckler

President Reagan on Thursday nominated former Indiana Gov. Otis R. Bowen, described by friends as a country doctor with a “Hoosier down-home sense of fairness,” to succeed outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret M. Heckler.

Without a formal announcement, Reagan introduced the Cabinet nominee in a brief, low-key session before a blazing fireplace in the Oval Office, saying simply: “This is a photo opportunity with the newly designated secretary of health and human services.” Then he added: “We’re delighted he has accepted.”

Reagan said he selected the 67-year-old former family doctor, known as Doc Bowen, “because of all the qualifications he has in excess.”

Bowen’s appointment was praised by both congressional Republicans and Democrats, as well as by Heckler. The Senate is expected to act on his nomination in a few weeks.

Will Issue Statement

At the White House, Bowen refused to answer reporters’ questions, saying he will issue a statement at a later time.

He was asked if he would continue to advocate the use of DMSO, a drug with limited approval for human use, which he said he administered to his terminally ill wife. “I did nothing illegal. DMSO is not illegal,” Bowen replied.

DMSO, or dimethyl sulfoxide, a derivative of wood pulp, is licensed for veterinary use and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human use only for a very rare kidney condition known as interstitial cystitis. However, it is known to be widely used as a painkiller and to treat rheumatism and arthritis.

Bowen told an American Medical Assn. convention that he had given his wife, Beth, DMSO and marijuana capsules to ease the pain she suffered from bone marrow cancer. The marijuana derivative, not sanctioned by the FDA at the time, has since been approved.

“Why can’t a dying person, with severe pain, have easy prescription access to it?” he asked the AMA then. “The only excuse I could find was that, after prolonged use and heavy dosage, it caused an occasional cataract in dogs only. The container said ‘for horses only.’ We laughed together about it, but it really wasn’t funny.” His wife died in 1981.

Bowen, who served as Indiana’s Republican governor from 1973 to 1981, also served for a time as coroner of Marshall County, Ind. He continued his family practice during 14 years of service in the state Legislature, including four terms as House Speaker. He is now professor of family medicine and director of undergraduate family practice education at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

“First as a doctor--then as a public servant--Otis Bowen has been serving people all of his adult life. The President has made a fine choice,” Heckler said in a statement. She will remain secretary of the department until confirmed in her new post as ambassador to Ireland, a process that may take until January.

‘Sense of Fairness’

Rep. Andrew Jacobs Jr. (D-Ind.) said: “I’m immensely fond of him. He has a Hoosier down-home sense of fairness. He’s just a good person. . . . He always got elected there with more votes than Republicans had to give.”

Jacobs recalled how, in 1974, while governor, Bowen persuaded Jacobs’ father not to resign a judgeship “even though Bowen could have appointed a Republican in my father’s place.”

“Instead, he called my father up and urged him to reconsider because he thought he was doing a fine job,” Jacobs said. “That tells you something about Bowen, doesn’t it?” Jacobs said with a laugh. “Later on, my father did quit,” he added, “and Bowen appointed a Republican.”

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) said in a statement: “Doc Bowen has proven himself to be a no-nonsense public administrator, but also a compassionate public servant.”

White House officials initially met with Bowen, as one of the finalists for the job, “out of deference,” said Mark C. Helmke, a spokesman for Lugar. Then, he added, they “really began to like the guy.”

“I think they found him a lot like the President,” Helmke said. “He’s a fiscal conservative, but he has a kind of common touch about him. His manner is very much like Reagan’s. He’s very homey.”