The Doctor Is In

President-elect George Bush withstood pressures from rigid opponents of abortion in naming his new health secretary. Or did he? Bush went ahead with his choice--Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, president of Morehouse School of Medicine--for secretary of health and human services. But before he did, Sullivan, the only black person named to the Bush Cabinet, had to steer a careful course around congressional critics and anti-abortion groups on his personal views on abortion.

Bush said during the presidential campaign that one’s position on abortion should not be a litmus test on judicial appointments. Nor should it be for any other government post. It is especially important that the person who speaks for the Administration on today’s vast range of health issues have an open mind. Abortion so clouds American politics that it is difficult for those in leadership to maintain that openness and withstand the pressures of a vocal minority.

Sullivan is viewed as a persuasive educator and doctor who has managed to raise funds for the medical school that he heads--a school that is only a decade old. The federal Department of Health and Human Services handles so many controversial questions, from how best to attack the killer disease of acquired immune deficiency syndrome to how to hold down medical costs, that Sullivan will need all those persuasive skills.

Every woman should be allowed to make an informed and private choice concerning abortion, but some groups will never agree to that proposition. With firmness and the backing of his friend, the President-elect, Sullivan could, however, help put the debate in perspective and keep it on a rational level. He can start at his confirmation hearings.