Turning Blind Eye to a Life of Merit : Nominee’s foes obsess about the abortion issue

There is no doubt that the precarious welfare of millions of U.S. children and young adults is among this nation’s most pressing public health problems. One-eighth of children born in the United States are born to teen-age mothers. The rate of teen pregnancy and birth in this country is considerably greater than that in most other developed nations. A growing number of American children, regardless of the age or marital status of their mother, are now reared in poverty and amid violence. Indeed, Republicans and Democrats agree on the need to reduce teen-age pregnancy, mitigate child neglect and improve the quality of parenting.

Given these needs, Dr. Henry Foster Jr. has an excellent background to be the next surgeon general. Foster, nominated by President Clinton, is a former dean and acting president of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. The obstetrician/gynecologist, 61, was nominated last week after Clinton ousted Dr. Joycelyn Elders in December because her frank but controversial statements on teen-age sexuality embarrassed the Administration.

Foster’s commitment to reducing teen-age pregnancy and its rippling effects on children is longstanding and deeply felt. The nominee is best known for a program he started in two Nashville public housing projects. The program, called “I Have a Future,” aimed at teaching teen-agers to delay sexual activity and childbearing as a central element in building successful lives. While practicing in Massachusetts and Alabama as well as Tennessee, Foster was committed to reducing teen-age pregnancy, drug abuse and smoking. His work has generated support from many directions; the Bush Administration referred to him as one of its “thousand points of light.”

But, for some, all these good works matter little because over the course of his 30-year career, Foster performed abortions. As a result, his nomination is in trouble. Never mind that despite the best efforts of ideologues, most abortions remain legal and most Americans support the right to choose an abortion. And never mind that Foster has delivered more than 10,000 babies and helped countless teen-agers in distress.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), among others, seems to relish the prospect of a bruising confirmation fight with the President over the abortion issue. This time Clinton must stand firm, as he vowed to do Monday.

By afternoon the President’s support of Foster seemed more conditional; Clinton said he would fight for the nominee “if the facts are as I understand them to be.” If Clinton believed in Foster enough to nominate him, the fact that as a gynecologist he performed legal abortions should not cause presidential support to evaporate. And the GOP should recall its 1992 convention, which obsessed about social issues like abortion and homosexuality, and remember that it helped clear the way for Clinton’s election.