White House Reviewing Policy on Abortion Counseling Restrictions

The White House, facing strong congressional opposition to rules that forbid abortion counseling at federally supported family planning clinics, appeared to open the door Tuesday to a compromise on the issue.

Although President Bush still favors the controversial rules and is expected to veto House-approved legislation to block their enforcement, Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that the Administration is reviewing its options in working with Congress.

“What we do down the road, I don’t know,” Fitzwater told reporters. “But at this point we’re sticking with the regulations.”

One suggested compromise, reportedly advanced by Sen. John H. Chafee (R-R.I.) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), would allow clinics to discuss the possibility of abortion with pregnant women in a neutral way, but would not require them to do so. This plan was said to have been presented to Bush in late June by Chafee and Senate Minority Whip Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.), but it apparently did not receive a favorable response from the White House.

The Administration has come under pressure to soften its stand. Many members of Congress, including lawmakers with anti-abortion records, believe that the rules impose excessive restrictions on medical professionals. Organizations such as the American Medical Assn. and the American Nurses Assn. have asked Congress to reverse the rules on grounds that they prevent health professionals from giving the best medical advice to patients.

In a surprisingly strong display of opposition to the rules, the House recently voted 353 to 74 for an appropriations bill containing a provision that would allow abortion counseling to continue at federally funded clinics for the year starting Oct. 1.

Supporters of the regulations, however, said that they had sidestepped a showdown on the issue because they expect the President to veto the bill. They promised to deliver the votes later to sustain a veto in the House.

The report of the White House review, being conducted by Roger B. Porter, assistant to the President for economic and domestic policy, was hailed by abortion rights advocates as a possible sign of change in the Administration’s position.

“I’m sure George Bush is finding out that his right-wing position on choice is not very popular,” said Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae). “It’s great news--but we want to make sure the rules are cleanly repealed.”

Anti-abortion advocates, however, insisted that no compromise is in the works.

“We are confident that if a bill goes to the President that would nullify the regulations, it would be vetoed and that veto would be sustained,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee.

Although opponents of the rules do not claim to have the support of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto in the House, they believe that they are gaining ground in what looks like a summer-long struggle over the issue.

“We are encouraged that the vote (in the House) clearly has got the attention of the White House,” said Sally Patterson, vice president for public affairs of the Planned Parenthood Federation. “It’s a clear message to members of Congress . . . that there are some problems with the regulations and they need to be rethought.”

Johnson, however, said that some lower-level officials in the White House are victims of a “stampede mentality” pushing a compromise.

“It would be ludicrous to back off now and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory,” Johnson said.

And a spokesman for Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), a leading House supporter of the regulations, said that Weber had spoken to the White House and was not aware of any compromise talks on the abortion counseling issue.