Clinton moves to amend abortion bill

NEW YORK € President Clinton is asking lawmakers to amend a bill outlawing a type of late-term abortion and permit exceptions in cases where the life or health of a woman is at risky.

The bill seeks to outlaw what is called an intact dilation and evacuation, which is performed after 20 weeks of gestation and strongly opposed by abortion opponents who call it a ''partial birth abortion.''

The bill is considered important because it is the first time since the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion that Congress is voting to ban a particular abortion method.

FDA violated confidentiality rights

WASHINGTON € The Food and Drug Administration is denying a charge by a tobacco state congressman that it misused a special medical program to allow doctors to lobby for new smoking restrictions.

The FDA acknowledged yesterday that some victims of tobacco-caused diseases were identified publicly during the doctors' campaign, which the congressman contends violated patient confidentiality laws.

Patients' names have since been edited out of public documents, FDA spokesman Jim O'Hara said.

Surgeon spreads virus to patients

BOSTON € A young heart surgeon unknowingly infected at least 19 of his patients with the hepatitis B virus, despite wearing gloves and carefully following all of the other usual operating room precautions.

While this virus can be extremely infectious, the high rate of spread startled experts, especially since they could not find that he had done anything wrong.

About 1 percent of U.S. surgeons are believed to be infected with hepatitis B, which can be fatal. Most of them, like the doctor in the newly described case, apparently caught it from their patients during operations.