HOWEVER, he had a perfect pro-life voting records and spoke on the floor of the Senate and in committee regarding his pro-life positions. Two such examples below:
NOMINATION OF DAVID SATCHER, OF TENNESSEE, TO BE AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, AND SURGEON GENERAL OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (Senate - February 10, 1998)
I have talked to him about this. I am a strong supporter of the ban on partial-birth abortions. I think there is no justification whatsoever for that onerous procedure. And, in response to questions on this issue, Dr. Satcher has said:
While I support the concept of a ban on late-term abortions, like the President I feel that if there are risks of severe health consequences for the mother then that decision should not be made by the Government, but by the woman in conjunction with her family and her physician.
Again, he supports the concept of a ban on late-term abortions but he believes there should be more thought given to the situation of severe health consequences for the mother. I understand what he is talking about.
Personally, I have concerns about that exception and its potential for abuse. Without getting into that whole debate again, I can simply say I disagree with the President’s position on that issue. However I have discussed this issue with Dr. Satcher and I have read what he has written in response to questions on this issue. I am satisfied he does not intend to use the position of Surgeon General to advocate or promote abortion in any way.
NOMINATION OF HENRY W. FOSTER, JR., TO BE MEDICAL DIRECTOR IN THE REGULAR CORPS OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE AND TO BE SURGEON GENERAL OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (Senate - June 21, 1995)
Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, today we are debating much more than the qualifications of Dr. Henry Foster. Few could argue he is not technically qualified. Furthermore, few, if any, would contest the fact that Henry Foster is a decent man who has worked hard and done much good in his lifetime.
I might also say, for my part I am not too caught up in these issues of credibility with regard to things that may or may not have happened a decade or more ago. I do not agree with my colleagues who say that you cannot trust this man. I hope the Members of this body are never judged by standards of consistency in other matters by which we judge some of these nominees.
However, Dr. Foster is caught up in something much bigger than himself and, therefore, so are the rest of us in this debate. Because of the way the President has used the office of Surgeon General and the appointments to it, we are now engaged in a heated national debate, one that I think is divisive and unnecessary. At a time when all of us, and especially the President, should be looking for ways to bring people together in this country, the President, by means of this appointment, has chosen instead to give a symbolic victory to one side in the abortion debate.
The President has taken the office of Surgeon General, a rather obscure office with no real authority whose purposes have traditionally been to simply promote mental and physical health, and raised it to the position of spokesperson with regard to sensitive moral and social issues. Then he has proceeded to appoint Dr. Elders to that position, one of the worst and most controversial appointments in recent years.
With that legacy, naturally the position has become one of great sensitivity to many of the American people. It is time for an appointment that will symbolize a return to matters of basic health care. It is time for an appointee who will command the attention and respect of the Nation with regard to these issues.
Instead, the President has made an `in-your-face’ appointment that was totally insensitive to the religious and moral beliefs of a large segment of the American people. One must assume the President knew the firestorm of divisiveness that this appointment would cause and that he simply assumed he would be the political winner in this national debate that would ensue, regardless of whether or not Dr. Henry Foster was confirmed.
That is not the proper use of the office of the Surgeon General and that is not the proper use of this nomination. Therefore, I choose not to endorse the President’s actions and I will not vote to confirm this nomination.
Thank you for looking that up and posting it.