Foster Nomination

* Thank you for the article on the splendid work of Dr. Henry Foster (“Tuskegee Still Holds Dr. Foster in Its Heart,” Feb. 19).

By hammering away on Foster’s “credibility” instead of bluntly stating they hold abortions of any number a crime, the Gingrich contingent have actually seemed to make a case against this exceptional man. Had he been similarly briefed he could have said, “The relatively few abortions I have performed were legal and humane. The numbers are immaterial.”

Thank you again for providing a clear case for the appointment of Foster.

BEATRICE N. YOUNG

Huntington Beach

* Other than the surgeon general nominee’s inability to tell the truth, does it really matter whether Foster performed “less than a dozen abortions,” 39, or 700?

The defining number can be easily established through historical and legal precedent. How many Africans did one have to purchase prior to the Civil War to be labeled a slave owner? How many Jews did a Nazi have to send to the gas chamber during World War II to be guilty of a war crime? And how many pregnancies must a surgeon end with a finely honed scalpel to become an abortionist? I contend the answer to each question is “one.”

MICHAEL R. BOLDRICK

Santa Maria