
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 31, 1992                   TAG: 9203310069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

AMA: `GAG RULE' SHIFT NOT ENOUGH

Twenty-three medical groups, including the American Medical Association, said recent Bush administration changes to the 1988 rule that bars abortion counseling and referrals at federally funded clinics don't go far enough, and they urged Congress to overturn the rule.

In a letter to all members of Congress, the groups labeled the 1988 language first advanced by the Reagan administration a "gag rule" that "inhibits the ability of the medical and nursing professions to communicate with their patients" fully.

The March 20 changes by the Bush administration - which officials say will allow doctors, but not nurses or other personnel, to tell pregnant women that abortion is an option - still "censors the speech of physicians and nurses," according to the groups, which include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Nurses Association.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health and the environment, said the Bush administration is "seeking to calm down some doctors by letting them say a few more words," but "nine out of 10 patients see a nurse, not a doctor" at federally funded clinics.

"The gag rule is unfortunately alive and well," said Rep. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a subcommittee member. A Waxman bill awaiting floor action extends the Family Planning Act, increases funding and includes provisions requiring doctors and other counselors to tell women abortion is an option. Similar language was vetoed by President Bush last year.

On Monday a Department of Health and Human Services official spelled out for the subcommittee the conditions under which doctors can discuss abortion with clinic patients. But no written regulation detailing these conditions has been issued.

William Archer, a HHS deputy assistant secretary, said the March 20 change "ensures that doctors and patients . . . can speak on any - on any - medical matter. . . . A physician is able to provide any medical information about abortion that he deems necessary for a patient."

Under questioning by Waxman, he said this "absolutely" permits discussing all pregnancy options, including abortion, if the patient asks about it, as he would be free to do "in his own private practice."

by CNB