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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1982)
Photo by Mark Pynas Charles Hoffmeister 'I've never had any patients come back and say,'Gee, I wish I hadn't had this done.' Worlds apart "Abortion is a personal matter between a woman and her physician." "Life begins at conception." "The most elementary freedom is the right of choice." "There's no such thing as a life not worthy to be lived." Worlds apart And with abortion legislation pending in the U S Congress, the war of words intens ifies Legislators, attorneys, nurses, ethicists, columnists, theologians — and almost everyone who can talk — are joining the tray But it is physicians who perform, or refuse to perform, more than one million abortions done each year in the United States In Springfield, the offices of Norm Gosch and Charles Hoffmeister are 20 feet apart, separated by blacktop and careful landscap ing But when it comes to abortion, the two family doctors are worlds apart Norm Gosch f^forms between 40 and 50 abortions every month — a needed and worthwhile service, he says Of the 30 patients he sees per day, two to four have abortions, he says Most of his abortion patients are from 18 to 25 years old, he adds He performs abortions only during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, he says Gosch uses the suction technique the fetus is sucked out of the uterus, through a plastic tube and into a glass container In the late 1960s, Gosch worked for six years at the University student health center "At that time you had to write birth control prescriptions under the authorization of an outside physician because the student health center didn't want to take responsibility for physicians there prescribing pills to women whose parents might be upset about it all "Abortions were not available, of course, at that time, and women that became pregnant that didn't wish to be pregnant had to go either to Mexico or to Japan You never knew when you referred someone out to have an abortion just what the circumstances might be It was always sort of an uncomfortable feeling not knowing what was going to hap pen to your patient " Bev Gosch, the doctor’s wife and office manager, says she worked in a Lane County birth control clinic where women often reported they'd been to Mexico for abortions "Just hearing their stories, of the terror at the frightening conditions and the bad hygiene — just so many things like that kind of changed how I felt about having abortions here " i Gosch charges $200 for an abortion, in eluding three appointments before the abor tion and a check-up two weeks after. Prices for abortion range from $180 to $220 "It's a constantly changing profession, and that's what keeps it so exciting You can do things the way you did them five years ago, but you're not doing them in the best way that you can because things are changing so rapidly And I feel good just being abreast of what is current, what is new. and what is the best way of doing things " Do any of his patients feel guilty after they've had an abortion? "I've never had any patients come back to me and say, Gee, I wish I'd never had this done,' in my whole eight years of doing it I’ve had patients come back for the two-week visit and say, Gee, I'm sort of upset about this, yet I'd like some help in resolving these conflicts ' " Norm says his patients are sometimes referred to Planned Parenthood for counseling "What's really gratifying is to receive a thank-you note from a patient saying that they really appreciated the kind service, they really appreciated the thoughtfulness and the caring they felt in the office — and that's what I've been working for all this time “It makes you feel like you're operating a needed and a worthwhile service, and doing it well " An unwanted pregnancy can be traumatic, Norm says "Most of the women I see are not married and not interested in marrying the person who caused the pregnancy .’* Other patients have career plans that would be disprupted by a child. Norm says Other patients are teenagers who can't be adequate mothers; others are in their late 30s and early 40s and don't want to have a child who’ll be 20 when they're 60 “I think there s a right time and a wrong time to have children and each person in their life knows when that is," he says The Goschs have four children "All children have a right to be parented appropriately and to have loving parents For the most part, the patients I see are not married, they're not ready to be a mother, have no desire of being a mother, and I can't really see this would be appropriate to require them to remain preg nant under the circumstances ” What about giving the child up for adoption? "Statistically, women are keeping their babies," Bev says “They don't adopt them out. I’ve been to the homes where the mother is keeping her baby I've seen what t's like "And it's so very self-serving for those people who are wanting to adopt a baby to ump on the right-to-life or anti-choice band wagon,” she adds "They’re just meeting heir own concerns." Some pro-life activists are self-serving when they discover they're pregnant, she says "Abortion has been here It’s been around since the time of Christ The bottom line is that it is not unusual for women who have been involved in anti-abortion activity to come in for abortions, or women to bring their own daughters in And they all say the same thing, In my case, or in my daughter's case, it's different.' ” "It boils down to the fact that we re all sort of human, you know," Norm says "We all have human needs and human desires and human problems — no matter what your beliefs are They need to be worked out in the best way they can under the circumstances '' Most women having an abortion don't take it lightly, he adds "For the most part they are there because either their method failed or they just failed to use a method." "It seems reasonable that if you offer a patient a vasectomy, and you offer to set their leg when it’s broken, that you also should — as a regular part of medical care — provide abortions,” Bev says "Depending," adds Norm, "on how the physician feels about it morally " When does human life begin? "Oh, that’s a question that's bounced around a lot and I think that's a matter of how you feel about it personally," he says "There's a potential for a viable fetus whenever a sperm and an egg get together, and that occurs from concep tion on So, potential life is possible from that point" Asked about Charles Hoffmeister, Norm says, "As a fellow physician, he's a very competent person and he's most enjoyable to work with He is articulate, he's up to date and does a good job medically We just differ on our views regarding abortion " Charles Hoffmeister refuses to do abortions But he speaks highly of his col league, Norm Gosch For Hoffmeister, the key issues in the abortion debate are when life begins and when we are willing to take life "I was pro-abortion I felt it was legal and God was just another area of reality. I never did abortions, although had I been in the situation I certainly would have. "Early in the 1970s and I came to an un derstanding that there is absolute truth, and that Christianity was that truth My whole thinking changed "Even as a Christian I continued to be pro-abortion, mostly from a sociological standpoint. One, it was legal and, secondly, there were situations that dictated it. I could agree with abortion up to a certain point." His views on abortion changed when his wife Pam became pregnant "What I rationalized, and what I would say about life suddenly didn’t apply When she was six-weeks pregnant, there was absolute ly no question in my mind that that was life "Most people who are pro-abortion don’t want to discuss the question of when life begins I think that’s the real issue We want to talk around that issue and talk about the social issues. In all biology circles, life really begins when the egg and the sperm come together — at that point all the genetic make up that's going to be for each individual is there, totally different than any other genetic make-up that's ever come together. "The evidence is overwhelming as to when life begins. The real question is When are you willing to take life?' and When do you say it’s no longer acceptable to take life?' "The surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, asks the question, ’You have a newly-born, full-term child Is it OK to kill that child?’ Currently, most people would say no ‘Then you ask the question. Well, would you kill the baby a day before? And if not then, would you have done it the day before, the day before, the day before?’ When do you decide that isn't right and when do you decide that life is of no value? "From my position as a Christian — believ ing life is sacred — I don't think there’s any time you can take life "If I didn't have that perspective of life being sacred, and — coinciding with that — if there were no such thing as absolute truth, then the relative system we operate in would really come to be acceptable Norm (Gosch) and I have had discussions about this. His feeling is he's making a decision based with respect to the most social good: Which is better, to have unwanted pregnancies, back room illegal abortions, women sick and dy ing, or doing it with the best medical technique? If that's the only question, cer tainly it's better to do it safely and under the most sterile technique "Without an understanding of absolute truth and the sacredness of human life, I could agree with that " Adoption is better than abortion, Hoffmeis ter says "There isn't any easy solution. When a woman of younger age is pregnant and doesn't want to be, she doesn't have any easy option In a lot of situations you’re looking for what's the easiest Unfortunately, because an abortion is so easy to obtain and widespread, they are presented as the easy answer, or easiest answer "But the ultimate question isn’t what's easiest, it's a question of what's right." Having a child is not convenient, says his wife Pam “That word comes up a lot, 'con Contlnued on Page 12 Photo by David Coray Norm Gosch From my position as a Christian -1 don't think there's any time you can take a life.' J J CHINA BLUE RESTAURANT Now serving LUNCH Monday thru Friday 11-4 SOUP & SALADS Salad served with your choice of Oil & Vinegar, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island or French Dressing 1. Tossed Green Salad . j 9^ 2. Chefs Salad . $2.30 Tomato, Egg, Cheddar Cheese & Ham 3. Soup and Salad . $1.40 Garden fresh vegetables served with a cup of soup. r 4. Bowl of Soup . Different soup made daily. $1.50 O' Cm COMBINATION Make your own combination plate bv choosing one item from each group below. A. B-B-Q Fork Fried Rice B. Fork Chow Mein C. Sweet & Sour Chicken Wings 1. Braised Bean Curd • $2.50 2. Beef Broccoli • $2.80 3. Sweet and Sour Fork • $.245 4. Shrimp Egg Rolls • $2.40 Fineapple Sweet and Sour Chicken • $3.00 Three Shreds with Bean Sprouts • $2.65 Shredded Pork, Bamboo, Black W;ood Ear and Bean Sprouts 7. Fried Mushrooms • $2.10 8. Sweet and Sour Fish • $2.50 9. Curry Beef • $2.80 10. Special of the Day ---- (f continuation y^center The UO Continuation Center and the Department of Biology are offering this opportunity for you to learn uses and applications of micro-computers in the life sciences. APPLE II micro-computers will be available for in-class use. For additional information call the UO Continuation Center, 686-4231. • INSTRUCTOR: Professor Fernald • DATE: June 21 - July 22 • TIME: 7:00 - 7:50 PM; M.T.W.Th • COURSE: Bi 199 • CREDITS: 4 • GRADE OPTION: Pass/No Pass only • FEE. $144 (this is a self-support class and minimum enrollment is required. ESCAPE Escape Field Studies Program We’re Alive and Well During Summer Term. We offer work experience and upper division credit. You can fulfill elective requirements and build up your resume. Register at Mac Court on Monday June 21st or in room 327 EMU 686-4351 CI/CSPA UPPER DIVISION CREDIT 1-5 HOURS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
