Inna Meiman, 54; Soviet Cancer Victim

Inna Meiman, the Soviet cancer victim trapped in ideological red tape while hoping that Western medicine might prolong her life, died Monday.

Mrs. Meiman, 54, finally arrived in the United States for treatment Jan. 19, acknowledging that her prognosis was grim. But, she vowed: “I haven’t come to America to die. I’ve come to America to recover.”

She was forced to leave behind her husband, Naum Meiman, 75. Soviet authorities refused to give him permission to emigrate on grounds of security. He is a physicist who has done classified work and was a member of a Moscow group that monitored Soviet compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki accords of 1975.

Mrs. Meiman had been living at a retirement home where she was sent after surgery for spinal cancer at Georgetown University Hospital.

Rushed to Hospital

She was rushed back to the hospital Monday afternoon and died there a short time later.

Mrs. Meiman had suffered from cancer of the upper spine since 1983. She underwent four operations in the Soviet Union but was told that she needed treatment available in the West. She finally was granted permission to come to the United States for one year of treatment.

When she arrived in the United States, Mrs. Meiman told reporters, “It was such anguish for me to leave alone that I can’t talk about it.”

In New York, Morris B. Abram, chairman of the Conference on Soviet Jewry, said the organization was “profoundly saddened” by her death.

“Mrs. Meiman was prevented by the Soviet regime from receiving the adequate medical attention she so critically needed,” he said. “Unfortunately, permission was only granted when Inna Meiman’s condition became untreatable.”

Officials Pressed Cause

The Meimans’ cause was pressed by U.S. officials, and former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.) raised the issue in meetings with top Soviet leaders in Moscow late last year.

Hart issued a statement calling Mrs. Meiman’s death tragic and saying it was “outrageous” that her husband and family were not permitted to be beside her.