Bush Would Sign RU-486 Restrictions
October 12, 2000
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - George W. Bush supports legislation to
tighten standards for doctors administering the newly approved abortion pill
RU-486, a spokesman said Thursday.
Bush had been prepared to say he would sign such a bill, if elected, but
wasn't asked at Tuesday night's presidential debate, said spokesman Scott
McClellan.
A Republican-sponsored bill, filed last week in both the House and the
Senate, would set up restrictions on how the drug could be dispensed.
It would require the prescribing physician to be legally empowered and
trained to perform an abortion, properly trained in the drug's administration
and have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
Bush "would be inclined to support it. It provides certain reasonable
protections for the safety of women,'' said McClellan.
Abortion rights groups have denounced the bill, saying it would impose
restrictions that would hamper the ability of many doctors to prescribe the
drug.
The FDA approved RU-486 on Sept. 28, ending a 12-year debate in this
country. It gives American women a pharmaceutical abortion method
already in wide use in France, Britain, China and 10 other countries.
In the first presidential debate, Bush said he was disappointed in the FDA
ruling but didn't think the president could overturn it. Gore said the FDA had
concluded the drug was medically safe and he supported its decision.
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