WASHINGTON -- Health Secretary-designate Margaret Heckler said at her confirmation hearing Friday she 'cannot imagine coming down' on the side of abortion rights and would back the president on a teenage birth control rule.
Although the former Massachusetts congresswoman is certain to win approval as secretary of health and human services, she ran into tough questioning by the Senate Finance Committee on abortion and the federal regulation requiring parents to be notified when teen-agers seek birth control information.
Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., and Paula Hawkins, R-Fla., introduced the diminutive Mrs. Heckler, who sat on a pillow at the witness table, her two grown daughters behind her. A Republican, she was the dean of women serving in Congress until her defeat last fall,
Sen. Robert Packwood, R-Ore., asked Mrs. Heckler whether she believes Congress ought to use legislation to reverse the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
'I've always voted for the Hyde Amendment. I am pro-life. I sincerely believe in that position,' she replied. The Hyde amendment prohibits use of federal funds for abortion.
'That's not what I mean,' Packwood said. He said he was referring to measures to strip the high court of jurisdiction in cases involving abortion, school prayer or other cases. 'I want to know what you think personally.'
'My personal view is not as significant as the president's view,' she said.
When Packwood persisted, she repeated she was personally 'very, very opposed' to abortion.
'Given my strong feelings about the right to life, I cannot imagine coming down on the other side of the issue,' she said.
'What does that mean?' Packwood asked, provoking laughter from the audience.
'It means,' she said, 'that when faced with a major question on the issue, my own strong convictions on the right to life will, I think, dominate my own thinking.'
Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, a former federal district judge, said the response 'indicated that because of your deep feelings you can't imagine coming down on the other side. No end justifies any means.'
'I will probe the issue very, very deeply,' she said. 'I will not allow my private feelings to stand in the way of what I consider to be my judgment.'
Packwood also asked Mrs. Heckler about the so-called 'squeal rule' on teenagers seeking birth control information. The government is appealing court rulings blocking implementation of the regulation issued by her predecessor, Richard Schweiker.
'The president himself feels strongly about this issue. I have discussed the situation with him,' she said. 'If he chooses to continue to pursue that cause through a legislative approach, then my role would to support that.'
Mrs. Heckler said she also supports the recommendations of the bipartisan Social Security Commission and a 'workfare' program designed to encourage welfare recipients to work.
Committee chairman Robert Dole, R-Kan., noted a survey showing her support for Reagan was the lowest of any Republican in Congress.
'I've never, never admired a single president as much as President Reagan,' she said. 'He is very enlightened.'
'I will certainly differ with him,' she said. But, she added, 'I will follow generally his words and very specifically when that policy is set. I will do so with enthusiasm.'
'It sounded like a nominating speech,' Dole said to laughter from the audience.
Mrs. Heckler later was replaced at the witness table by Social Security Commissioner John Svahn, nominated by Reagan to be deputy undersecretary of health and human services.
Only three of the panel's 21 members remained for his confirmation hearing, but he got some tough questioning by Pryor about what the senator said seems to be harrassment of administrative law judges to trim Social Security disability rolls.
Dole said the committee will vote next Wednesday on the nominations of Mrs. Heckler and Svahn and he expected the panel to send both of them to the full Senate for final approval.
