Clinton medical nominee fights abortions attack

adviser pledged today to stand fast against anti-abortion groups trying

to sink his nomination and accused them of distorting his record.

''I am standing strong -- and I appreciate the strong support of the

president,'' Dr Henry Foster said as he fought to pull his nomination

for surgeon general out of political quicksand.

''My opponents say that this nomination is about abortion. I have

dedicated my medical career to taking all appropriate medical steps to

meet the health needs of my patients, and that includes performing legal

abortions,'' Foster said in a speech to an ethusiastic meeting of

medical students and faculty at the capital's George Washington

University.

He said he, like Clinton, believed that abortions should be ''safe,

legal and rare''.

Foster, a Tennessee-based obstetrician known for his work on public

health and combatting teenage pregnancy, added: ''My life's work has

been dedicated to making sure that young people don't have to face the

choice of having abortions.''

But his cause appeared to suffer a blow as he was trying to make his

case when Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware announced he would vote

against the nomination -- the first member of Clinton's Democratic party

to take that stand in the Senate, which must confirm the nomination by

majority vote.

''It was a political blunder in the extreme (to nominate Foster),''

said Biden. ''He (Clinton) shouldn't have sent him up. I'm going to vote

against him.''

Later today, Biden recanted, saying he had acted in a fit of pique.

''My comments concerning the nomination of Dr Foster were a reflection

of my anger and frustration with the way the White House has handled

this nomination,'' Biden said in a statement read by a White House

spokeswoman.

Senators including Republican Arlen Specter spoke up on Foster's

behalf. He also won endorsements from the American Medical Association,

a black doctors' group and Congress's Black Caucus. Foster, a black, met

with the caucus today.

It all added up to a rising political cross-fire that suggested this

was fast becoming another of the nomination nightmares the Clinton White

House has seen several times before. Prior embarrassments have erupted

over nominees for attorney general, defence secretary and lower posts.

In Foster's case, what appeared to be a safe choice exploded when

anti-abortion groups pounced on evidence that he had performed some

abortions during his career as an obstetrician.

Foster confirmed that he had, noting the procedure is not only legal

but a constitutional right. But he gave his critics more rope by making

vague, changing statements as to how many he had performed and under

what circumstances.

That enabled some political critics to sidestep the volatile abortion

debate per se and argue that the real issue was Foster's credibility and

the competence of White House staff work that failed to examine Foster's

abortion record.--Reuter.