ABORTION RULING MATTER OF SAFETY, NOT POLITICS

Abortion: Just the word is charged with emotion. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling fanned the fires of debate, and abortion could well become a factor in this year's presidential race. But a ruling last week by Missouri's Board of Healing Arts was not about politics. It was about preserving the public health and welfare.

Dr. Scott Barrett Jr. of Chesterfield now faces disciplinary action on eight counts of misconduct stemming from abortions he performed in Cape Girardeau and Springfield. Barrett worked at the Women's Health Center in Cape Girardeau along with Dr. Bolivar Escobedo. His hearing on similar charges of misconduct is still pending.

These two doctors were not singled out because they performed abortions. Both were charged with negligently performing these services, and thus threatening the lives of their patients. They should come under the same scrutiny as any other doctor. When doctors become dangerous, they should be stopped no matter what the specialty.

Part of the frustration of these cases has been the endless delays. Both complaints were filed by the board in March of 1990. The Escobedo case was recently delayed again until this October. Meanwhile, these doctors can continue to practice.

In America, the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty. But speed is also guaranteed by the process. Since these complaints are administrative, and not criminal, the proceedings have no bearing on the operations of the doctors' clinics. These doctors can still perform abortions until such time that the Board of Healing Arts takes action against them. In Barrett's case, state action will come more than two and a half years after the initial complaint was filed, and more than four years after some of the cases occurred. If Escobedo is found guilty, state discipline could take more than three years. That's far too long.

Barrett's specific misconduct demonstrates the wisdom of an appeal's court ruling that requires doctors to have surgical privileges at a nearby hospital. A Missouri law requires physicians who perform abortions to maintain surgical privileges at hospitals with obstetric and gynecological services. Escobedo has challenged that law, but a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court upheld the law in 1989.

One of Barrett's patients died, and several others probably would have died without lifesaving actions by other medical personnel, according to state findings.

The board also found that Barrett failed to maintain required records. Without proper checks and balances, there is no guarantee that these abortions are any safer than the illegal "back-alley" procedures. As long as abortion remains legal, those who use the service should be able to expect a level of professionalism and safety as any other surgical procedure. It's not a matter of politics, it's a matter of public safety.