Bush Says Importing Medicines 'Makes Sense' if Safe
Wed Aug 18, 8:22 PM ET
By Adam Entous
news.yahoo.com
HUDSON, Wis. (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites), facing growing anger among senior citizens over the high cost of prescription drugs and a virtual revolt by some states, conceded on Wednesday it "makes sense" for Americans to be able to import cheaper medicines as long as they are safe.
"If it's safe, then it makes sense. But I have an obligation for the safety of our citizens," Bush told a campaign rally in Hudson, Wisconsin, a state he lost in the last election by fewer than 6,000 votes.
Bush's Democratic rival for the presidency, John Kerry, has challenged him to "get out of the way" of Americans who want to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and elsewhere.
Bush said his administration is studying the issue although five states have sidestepped federal regulators and already are giving residents access to imported drugs, mainly from Canada where prices are much lower than in the United States.
Illinois said this week it would join Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and North Dakota in allowing residents access to imported medicines. It included drugs from outlets in Europe.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers such programs illegal and argues the imported drugs may not be safe. But the outcry over high prescription drug costs has become a big election-year issue.
The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing a report on how Americans might be able to import medicines cheaply and safely and Congress is considering legislation to legalize imports from Canada and some other countries.
"I'm looking at this. There's a lot of pressure in Congress for importation," Bush said. "What I don't want to do is be the president that says we'll allow for importation and, all of sudden, drugs that are manufactured somewhere else come in over the Internet and it begins to harm our citizens."
Both parties in the House of Representatives have supported drug imports, but the legislation has never made it through the Senate without safety caveats that have made the imports impossible.
Bush also signaled he would use a second term to gradually push through legislation to limit abortion rights.
"Cultures change slowly. This is still a very heartfelt debate in the political process on the abortion issue," Bush told supporters. "My attitude is that I'll sign laws that begin to change peoples' perception of life and at the same time speak out for a culture of life."
He later attended a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, before starting a week's vacation at his Crawford, Texas ranch, in part to prepare for his Sept. 2 speech accepting the Republican nomination for president. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky) |
