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Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed a
proposed constitutional amendment which empowers Con
gress and state legislatures with the ability to ban abortions. ~
Such an amendment would overturn a nine year old Supreme
Court decision legalizing most abortions. It’s likely the issue
will come to the Senate floor sometime this spring
cort fernaid
sidelong glances
The proposed constitutional amendment is the singular
handiwork of conservative Sen Orrin Hatch. R-Utah, but it
represents the efforts of a broad base of abortion foes
Liberals have promised to use every parlimentary device,
including filibuster, to block the passage of this constitu
tional amendment Although the fight seems heavily stacked
against senate liberals — and the consensus of the American
people
A January poll conducted by the Associated Press and
NBC News showed that three of four Americans were
opposed to a constitutional ban on abortion
In the nationwide telephone poll adults were asked. “Do
you favor or oppose an amendment to the Constitution which
would give Congress the authority to prohibit abortions?"
Seventy-five percent of the respondents were opposed
to a constitutional amendment granting Congress this au
thority Nineteen percent said they favored it: while six
percent were not sure
Fifty-seven percent of those polled agreed with the
statement: "Every woman who wants to have an abortion
should be able to have one.”
Seventy-seven percent agreed with the statement: "The
decision to have an abortion should be left to the woman and
her physician. ”
Granted, polls aren’t conclusive — though, they do
illustrate trends In this case there appears to be strong
opposition to a constitutional ban on abortions There is also
a definite condoning of a woman’s choice regarding preg
nancy
Now comes the Hatch bill — and another, alternative bill,
proposed by arch-conservative Jesse Helms R-North Car
olina And at the top is Pres Ronald Reagan who. in recent
statements, supported the proposal for a constitutinal ban on
abortions Reagan, in a message to an anti-abortion rally in
Washington, said: “Government has the responsibility to opt
on the side of life for the unborn ' He also called for “greater
protection for the most defenseless and innocent among us
— the unborn child " Reagan made these statements the
same week he ordered devastating cuts to the Medicaid and
human resources budget
There is something inherently criminal in the conserva
tives efforts to legislate a woman's conscience and womb
The conservatives actions — and those of the neo-Christian
right — abandon all respect for and attempt to uphold the Bill
of Rights Will a woman's choice be legislated into
extinction?
The Emerald has recently been suffering internal
conflicts regarding the perimeters of opinion and the han
dling of sensitive issues The apparent resolution is that
“personal'' opinions are permitted only in reviews and
columns However, editorial opinions are subject to a whole
different criterion At least that's how the debacle was
unraveled by the Emerald's editor
The upshot is that as the editorial page editor I cannot
write an Emerald editorial on abortion Although, after a
couple of squelched efforts. I discovered I was allowed to
address the issue in a personal column
What doesn't sit well with me is the reactionary tenden
cies of people like Hatch and Helms The conservatives and
neo-christian right were screaming about too much federal
government before Reagan took office. Now these rightist
groups are clamoring up each other's backs to legislate at
the federal level laws promoting their inflexible moral view
Lastly, is a constitutional amendment the proper place to
resolve the abortion issue? I don’t think so The Supreme
Court made a reasonable decision nine years ago
SiHOROCTROExFOKlS his REvOumON, AND S£NOR R£A6AK| EXPORTS HIS KOMOfAiC THEORIES,,.
WHY «S EVERYBCCK INTENT On DESTRCMNG uS ?'
Squirrels
Squirrels again! Lei's be
realistic The squirrels don’t
have to be our enemies Not it
we love them Not if we sit down
with them, chant with them,
commune with them Squirrels
only attack people who put out
bad vibes Get in tune wrth your
inner self, get in tune with the
squirrels It's just like every
other problem in the world today
— pollution, war, inequality, re
pression the bomb — it will all
go away if we just learn to pas
sively sit and stare at our navels
and stop thinking Squirrel ar
rogance can be stopped only
by our metaphysical efforts
Nothing so frighteningly real
can be dealt with by real-world
action
Linda Jencson
Anthropology
Still mad
Poor Matt Meyer You've ta
ken a pounding from the review
of Making Love , haven't you I
bet you wish everyone would
just drop it. huh Sorry — I
haven't had my say yet Maybe
I'm just making a fool out of
myself talking to a brick wall but
it s been what7 — 3 maybe 4
weeks since you wrote your little
piece and I still get mad when I
remember your ignorance and
prejudice
Number one. you stated
Homosexuality is more than a
social issue it s a moral issue
Whose morals — yours? What
gives you the right to say a per
son's sexual orientation has an
ything to do with morality7 You
make me laugh Let me ask you
this — where does it stop7 Are
you going to also frown upon
sex before marriage, hetero
sexual one-night-stands, anal
intercourse oral intercourse,
and sex with or between those
still under eighteen7 Why don't
you just force your standards on
everybody else and we'll elect
you Secretary of Moral
Standards
You said society's morals are
crumbled because of one man's
opinion of life What about all
the heterosexual couples who
have "one-night-stands "?
Homosexuals don't own tfte
market Approximately 98 5
percent of child molestation is
by heterosexual men How
many women have you been
with in your life7 Are you so
pure? I saw the movie and it was
refreshing to see gay people as
doctors, lawyers, and as the
well-adjusted people they are
So keep your morals to yourself
Ann Marie Piazza
Psychology major
IFC charge
Rick Poulin and Lori Lieber
man charge in a recent Emerald
letter that the IFC recklessly
crippled the Forensics program
cutting its budget from $8,177 to
5,344 Neither their rhetoric nor
arguments support that charge
Oregon law mandates that in
cidental fees be used for the
physical and cultural develop
ment of students But the Fo
rensics program partakes heart
ily of academic fare Forensics'
participants typically receive
academic credit — credit no
doubt well deserved — but on
this activity incidental fees
should not unreservedly be
spent
Cuts in Forensics’ budget
were the result of IFC resolu
tions. on record, adopted
before budget hearings began
The committee s judgment, that
incidental fees should not pay
for student meals, lodging, or
travel outside states bordering
Oregon, have been consistently
applied to all programs Foren
sics has no special claim to
sympathy "
Poulin and Lieberman imply
that a “predisposition" to cut
Forensics' budget denied the
group due process They mis
understand legislative process
The IFC does not negotiate
program budgets not to weigh
the merits of programs with
judicial precision It makes hard
choices of policy and priority
Before it makes those choices
programs have the right to be
heard Forensics presented its
arguments It was heard it did
not prevail
The IFC harbors no animosity
towards the Forensics program
Its successes are commenda
ble
Steve C. Baldwin
IFC member. Law
letters policy
The Emerald will accept
and attempt to print all letters
containing fair comment on
issues, ideas and topics of
interest to the University
community
The letters must be limited
to 250 words, signed and the
identification of the writer
must be verified when the
letter is turned in to The
Emerald offices. EMU 300
The Emerald reserves the
right to edit any letter for
length, style, or content
Publication is dependent
upon space available
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