PIP: The US medical establishment remained silent throughout the decades of debate over abortion, but the anti-abortion uproar which accompanied the nomination of Dr. Henry Foster to succeed Dr. Jocelyn Elders as surgeon general of the US finally goaded major medical groups to take a stand. Dr. Foster reported that he had performed 39 abortions during his 38-year career as a gynecologist. Critics claim that he is lying and, despite the fact that he extols the virtues of abstinence in order to prevent adolescent pregnancy, abortion foes oppose his nomination. In response, the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and five other major medical groups stated that abortion is a legal medical procedure and should not be used as a reason to discredit a candidate for surgeon general. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that Foster, an eminently qualified candidate, will see his nomination upheld by Congress.