NETWORKS REJECT AD OPPOSING BUSH ON LAWSUITS

An advocacy group, USAction, said that four
television networks had turned down its request to
run an advertisement opposing President Bush's effort
to clamp down on medical malpractice lawsuits. The
group wanted to run the spots just before Mr. Bush's
State of the Union address. But networks said the
advertisement violated their standards for
advertising on controversial issues. In the
television advertisement, Dylan Malone of Everett,
Washington, says his son Ian suffered severe brain
damage at birth, as a result of "medical errors," and
died before his fifth birthday. "President Bush is
siding with the insurance, H.M.O. and drug companies,
trying to end what they call frivolous lawsuits,
while 100,000 Americans like Ian die each year
because of medical errors," Mr. Malone says in the
spot. "Mr. President, let's fix the health care mess,
but please stop blaming the victims. My son's life
was not frivolous."
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