Many Controversial Issues Awaiting Sullivan at HHS

WASHINGTON â€”  Dr. Louis W. Sullivan got a sudden initiation into national controversy this week when a pro-abortion comment nearly derailed his nomination.

But abortion is only one of many controversies he would face on taking over the $251-million-a-year Department of Health and Human Services, whose duties range from licensing new drugs to administering the Social Security fund.

Among many other duties, Sullivan would be in charge of:

--Devising a more effective national strategy to combat AIDS, one that sounds the alarm about the scope of the epidemic without creating panic and a backlash against those who contract the disease.

--Trying to hold down the soaring costs of Medicaid and Medicare without depriving citizens, especially the poor and the elderly, of quality health care.

--Supervising the Food and Drug Administration, a wing of his department, as it is called on to decide whether to allow U.S. distribution of the French drug RU 486, the so-called “abortion pill.�

Sullivan Refuses to Detail His Views

Sullivan, clearly gun-shy Thursday, refused to detail his views on these or any other issues that will face him as health secretary.

But plenty of others were willing to say that he is the right man for the job.

“We are pleased and delighted with the nomination,� said Dr. James H. Sammons, executive vice president of the American Medical Assn. “Dr. Sullivan has demonstrated his administrative abilities and knowledge in medical education. He is well acquainted with the challenges involved in funding programs of medical and scientific research and with the special needs associated with providing medical care for the nation’s elderly and poor.�

Horace Deets, executive director of the American Assn. of Retired Persons, praised Bush’s choice as a man who will protect the nation’s commitment to the elderly.

Sullivan, 55, is president of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Taught Medicine at Harvard University

He was graduated from Morehouse in 1954 and received his medical degree at Boston University. He is a specialist in hematology and has taught medicine at Harvard, Morehouse, the New Jersey College of Medicine and Boston University. He and his wife, Ginger, have three children.

“My personal position is that I am opposed to abortion except in the case of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother,� Sullivan said Thursday with Bush at his side. “I’m also opposed to federal funding of abortion except in the case of a threat to the life of the mother.�

Sullivan refused to clarify his earlier abortion comments in an Atlanta Journal interview and said that he would not discuss the matter until his confirmation hearing in the Senate.

Dr. Ezra Davidson, chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Charles J. Drew medical center in Los Angeles and Sullivan’s college roommate, said that it is regrettable so much attention had been focused on an issue that is secondary to HHS.