[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 26 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    DR. HENRY FOSTER, AN EMINENTLY QUALIFIED SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Engel] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, when I hear the attacks being made against 
the President's nominee fro Surgeon General, Dr. Henry Foster, I must 
say that I have never seen such a vicious and mean-spirited mood in 
this town. This really has to stop. We have to return some civility to 
the process of confirming nominees.
  Mr. Speaker, why would any professional subject themselves to be 
nominated to serve here in Washington when, by doing so, they know they 
will be ripped from pillar to post?
  It is the right of a President to select nominees, and it is the 
right of that nominee to get a fair hearing before Congress. Dr. Foster 
should have an opportunity to lay his record before the Congress and 
before the American people. I think it is an impressive record that, 
once aired, will impress many people.
  The so-called controversy over Dr. Foster has been fueled by a 
discussion over one single issue--an issue, I might add, that should 
not be used as a litmus test. We have hardly heard a word about the 
decades of caring service Dr. Foster has provided.
  Yes, Dr. Foster performed abortions. The last time I looked, Mr. 
Speaker, abortion was not illegal in the United States. There may be 
some who do not like the fact that abortion is legal in this country, 
but Dr. Foster should not be held hostage to their views.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Foster ran a program called I Have a Future, which 
urges teenagers to practice abstinence. The program was honored as a 
Point of Light by President Bush. Why are we not focusing on the 
positive message that is the heart of Dr. Foster's work?
  It is most disturbing that some Members of Congress are looking to 
score political points on this issue. It appears that they are willing 
to put their own personal ambitions ahead of the well-being of the 
American people, especially our teenagers.
  I have not seen any evidence that disqualifies Dr. Foster for the 
post of Surgeon General. In fact, he is eminently qualified for the 
job. I urge my colleagues to step back and allow the process to 
proceed. Let Dr. Foster have a fair hearing before Congress. If he has 
a fair hearing, I have no doubt that he will be confirmed.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to my colleague and good friend, the 
gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Lowey].
                              {time}  1910

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, the right to terminate a pregnancy is 
contained in our Constitution, affirmed by our legislatures, upheld by 
our courts, and supported by the American people. It has been the law 
of the land in all 50 States for over 20 years, and by vast majorities, 
the public believes it should remain so.
  But today, a war is being waged on that right. For a radical 
minority, it is a violent war, unleashed on doctors and clinics from 
Pensacola to Brookline. For others, it is a cold war of intimidation, 
fought with ugly scare tactics, innuendo, and political pressure.
  A new front in the assault on women's health has opened up on the 
floor of Congress, and its first casualty is the reputation of an 
outstanding physician ready to serve the public, Dr. Henry Foster.
  Dr. Foster is among the most respected citizens of Tennessee. He has 
had an extraordinary career as an obstetrician and educator, treating 
literally thousands of patients, counseling teenagers, confronting 
every kind of social and medical dilemma, and dealing with the human 
consequences of our public health decisions.
  Dr. Foster's commitment to the prevention of teen pregnancy, perhaps 
the most urgent social challenge facing us today, establishes him as a 
national authority on the subject.
  His passion for the children of America, and his real experience with 
teenagers in troubled relationships make him ideally suited to be 
Surgeon General of the United States.
  Dr. Foster is the right person, at the right time, for the right job.
  And that is why it is so tragic to see his record and character 
recklessly attacked by individuals who have done nothing to promote our 
Nation's health, and entirely too much to threaten it.
  The antichoice strategy is clear.
  Because they cannot achieve their real objective of criminalizing 
abortion, antichoice forces are instead of pursuing a strategy of de 
facto abolition--making abortion unavailable by stigmatizing doctors, 
and by discouraging the study of abortion procedures in medical 
schools.
  Sadly, those tactics have been all too successful. Today, less than 
20 percent of the counties in America have an abortion provider--less 
than 20. For the women who live in the other 80 percent, the right to 
choose is a paper
 promise, growing thinner everyday, and threatening to disappear 
entirely.

  It's really quite simple. If you can't make aborition a crime, then 
just treat abortion providers as though they were criminals. And that 
is what's happening now.
  Make no mistake, this is no numbers game--whether it's 1 or 12 or 40 
is irrelevant.
  And there is no question about Dr. Foster's character and ability--he 
has proven both, over and over.
  It is the right to choose itself that is under siege, because if a 
man like Dr. Foster can be denied confirmation on this basis--for 
engaging in a legal, appropriate, responsible medical practice--then 
doctors everywhere will shrink from the challenge of reproductive 
health. And women will return to the back alley and the emergency room.
  Opponents of this nomination may not have the guts to spell it out, 
but they know full well that this is a veiled attack on the right to 
choose.
  I am the mother of three children. And though I have never had to 
face the trauma of an unplanned pregnancy, I know what it means to 
raise a family, to care for child, and to assume responsibility for the 
next generation.
  There is no more personal or emotional decision than the one to bring 
a new life into the world.
  Dr. Foster has done a tremendous amount to help young people come to 
grips with the weight of that decision, and to discourage the 
irresponsibility and the ignorance which can lead to teen pregnancy and 
abortion.
  Like most Americans, he believes that abortion should be safe, legal, 
and rare. Unlike so many of his critics, he has actually done something 
to make that goal a reality.
  It would be a disgrace for this Congress to deny to the American 
people the benefit of Dr. Foster's service simply because he performed 
his duty as a medical doctor, and obeyed the Constitution of the United 
States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, our children deserve better. We will fight to preserve 
their health, their rights, and their future.


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