Committee Approves Sullivan for Cabinet After His Apology for Abortion Confusion

The nomination of Louis W. Sullivan as secretary of health and human services won swift approval from the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday after Sullivan apologized for “having misspoken . . . and having caused confusion” over his position on abortion.

“I am opposed to abortion, except in the case where the life of the mother is threatened, or in cases of rape or incest,” he said in his confirmation hearing. “I support a human life amendment, embracing the exceptions just noted. Like President Bush, I would welcome a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade,” the 1973 decision that made abortion legal.

Further, he said, he would work to encourage adoptions and other alternatives to abortion if confirmed as secretary.

The vote to approve him was 17 to 0, with one member of the committee, conservative Sen. William L. Armstrong (R-Colo.), voting “present.” The nomination is scheduled to be voted on next week by the full Senate, where it is expected to be approved easily.

The nomination of Sullivan, president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and the only black named to Bush’s Cabinet, ran into some turbulence shortly after his selection when he was quoted in an Atlanta newspaper as favoring a woman’s right to abortion. Several weeks ago, he fueled the controversy when he reportedly told Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a supporter of a woman’s right to have an abortion, that he privately opposes reversing Roe vs. Wade.

For the most part, however, members of the committee, including Packwood, were gentle with Sullivan.

“You’re going to go with my blessing,” Packwood said. “You’re going to have to make some decisions that--because of the Administration’s position--that I’m going to disagree with . . . but we’re going to make the final decisions, and it’s clear you’re going to follow the law.”

Sullivan’s only tense moments occurred during an exchange with Armstrong over the use of fetal tissue in scientific and medical research, which Armstrong strongly opposes. Now, there is a moratorium on the federal funding of such research. But, last fall, an independent federal advisory panel of the National Institutes of Health recommended that the research be allowed to continue as long as there were safeguards to discourage women from seeking abortions for the purpose of providing fetal tissue.

Scientists believe that the transplantation of fetal tissue holds extraordinary promise for the treatment of such illnesses as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease and a growing list of other serious conditions.

The 55-year-old hematologist insisted that he could make no decisions involving fetal tissue research until he had received the National Institutes of Health report.

He said, however, that “society has reaped benefits . . . as a result of our broad research efforts” and that he has “reservations about any blanket prohibition concerning research.” But he said: “I would certainly not want to do anything that would encourage abortions to be done in order to get fetal tissue . . . . I would find that ethically unacceptable.”

Armstrong accused Sullivan of “ducking the question” and refused to vote in favor of his nomination. He said, however, that, after he has had an opportunity to “sort (Sullivan’s responses) out,” he “may still vote for him on the floor” when the full Senate considers his nomination.

Sullivan’s hearings had been postponed for more than three weeks while the FBI completed its background investigation. During that time, questions arose about whether Sullivan could still receive income from the college during his government service, including $300,000 in accumulated benefits and separation pay.

Also, the FBI was examining the relationship between Morehouse and a Fulton County commissioner, Reginald Eaves, who was hired as a part-time lecturer at the college. Eaves was paid more than $34,000 during a four-year period when he sat on the commission and reportedly used his seat to promote issues of benefit to the school. During that time, in an unrelated matter, Eaves was convicted of extortion.

Sullivan told the committee Thursday that, if confirmed, he will resign as president of the school and take an unpaid leave of absence as professor of medicine. However, he said, he would continue to participate in the school’s benefit programs, such as life, health and disability insurance.

But he said he would forfeit the $300,000 so that conflict-of-interest questions would not be raised. Morehouse, which gets federal funds for many of its programs, received $5.8 million from the Health and Human Services Department last year.

Several of the senators expressed sympathy with Sullivan’s financial situation and said that they would look into the matter.

“I think we ought to take a look at the ethics laws we promulgate around this place,” said Sen. John H. Chafee (R-R. I). “I don’t think you should have to go through a tollbooth where the charge is $300,000.”

In response to questioning about Eaves, Sullivan said that the school had erred in “not monitoring the situation carefully and closely” and had since “taken steps to see that this will not happen again.”