editorial
Anti-abortionists give
conflicting messages
Since 1982, according to Newsweek magazine, 30 abor
tion clinics have been blown to pieces by anti-abortion ter
rorists. At the same time, anti-abortion demonstrations have
become more aggressive, with protesters brandishing
bloody dolls, playing recordings of fetal heartbeats, poun
ding on the windows of abortion clinics, and even following
women home who have had abortions and staging
demonstrations in front of their houses.
As in the past, the Emerald continues in its stance that
abortion is a personal choice, a decision which must be
made by those directly involved. But we abhor this escala
tion of violence and harassment in recent months that is be
ing made in the name of the anti-abortion crusade.
What is even more disquieting is the separation many
anti-abortionists make over what they consider to be
“murder.” For example, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, a leading
anti-abortionist, feels that abortion is murder, yet he actively
supports the continued development of nuclear weapons. In
Hiroshima, Japan, babies are still being born with physical
defects as a result of the radiation fallout caused by the U.S.
atomic bomb dropped on that city in 1945. President Ronald
Reagan, another outspoken anti-abortionist who has equated
abortion with legalized murder, continued to supply the
Israeli army with weapons during their occupation of West
Beirut in 1982, even after the International Red Cross con
firmed that the Israeli army had dropped U.S.-made cluster
bombs on civilian targets, resulting in the deaths of hun
dreds of women and children.
It is ironic that many anti-abortion groups, when asked,
claim that nuclear weapons are justifiable in certain situa
tions. Yet these same groups find that abortion is almost
never justifiable under any situation.
Those anti-abortion groups (and there are many) which
have spoken out against the bombings of abortion clinics
must continue to do so, before the violence escalates and
begins to claim human lives in the name of righteousness.
As the debate on abortion continues to heat up, we hope
that those involved will see abortion for what it is: a com
plex issue directly related to the social and economic condi
tions in this country. As such, any discussion of abortion
must consider the broader implications involved.
State board should never
have taken student money
While most University students were busy enjoying
Christmas vacation, the State Board of Higher Education was
busy making arrangements to use $900,000 of student tui
tion fees to pay for legal costs the board incurred defending
recent lawsuits. The $900,000 was part of a total of $1.6
million generated by higher-than-expected enrollment at
four of Oregon’s instututions of higher education.
When then-Rep. Grattan Kerans, D-Eugene, and State
Sen. Edward Fadeley, D-Eugene, caught wind of the board’s
action, they decided to do something about it. They put a
motion before the Legislative Emergency Board for $900,000
to be distributed among the schools that have experienced
the higher enrollment. On Friday, the emergency board ap
proved the motion.
Any money raised by higher-than-expected enrollment
at Oregon’s institutions of higher education is rightfully
supposed to go back into these institutions in order to better
serve the students. Our thanks go out to both Kerans and
Fadeley for standing up on an issue that directly benefits
students.
r
letters
Tell it!
As one of the protesters at the
Marine Corps presentation last
fall, and as an ex-Marine who
served with a combat unit in
Vietnam, I would like to res
pond to the criticisms of our ac
tions by the Eugene Register
Guard, Paul Olum, and ACLU
president Barry Siegel.
The rumor is being spread
that somehow a bunch of stu
dent pacifists denied a bunch of
Marines their freedom of
speech, when in reality what
happened was an act of non
violent civil disobedience.
There was no threat of violence
against the Marines. We were
all willing to be arrested and
hauled away for our actions,
and at that point the presenta
tion could have continued.
As for the great white liberals
who choose to defend the
Marines, why is it you only pull
out your platitudes when it
suits your purpose? Tell it to the
young Marines who are beaten
in boot camp, denied all rights
of citizenship. Tell it to the old
Vietnamese man I watched the
young Marines beat, hitting him
again and again, burning off his
beard with their cigarette
lighters. Tell it to Corporal
Alfred Griffin, a black man who
sits in a Marine Corps brig for
refusing to take part in the inva
sion of Grenada. 1 would en
courage one of you to do a
presentation on the United
States Marine Corps and
Freedom of Speech. I’d love to
hear it. Tell it to an ex-Marine.
James Phillips
Alliance to Counter Militarism
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Facing facts
Mr. Munion's letter (ODE,
Jan. 11) calls for a rebuttal. Let's
take his points as he makes
them:
1. America the Beautiful. Yes,
but did humans, white or red,
have any part in the creation of
this natural beauty? If white
Americans are indeed responsi
ble for this beauty, then they are
culpable of desecrating natural
beauties in other lands for the
sake of profit.
2. Our system of law is not
universally admired, indeed,
many look on ours as a corrupt
and discriminatory set of prac
tices. Ask any minority here.
3. Food in plenty, except that
we still have boxes in stores ask
ing for donations of food for our
hungry.
4. A free press. . .Has Mr. Mu
nion ever tried to get a truly in
formative article published on
the dangers of continued power
of GM, GE, and Dupont, or a
balanced presentation of the
truth about the situation in
Palestine?
c c « « : « l c_ • * _ _ __ i
« • W V # M » Cf V u u i i I y □ II U
Medicare. Has he really studied
or, better still, lived in other in
dustrialized countries of Europe
or Canada to compare their pro
visions with ours? British Col
umbia is less than a day’s drive
north, Mr. Munion. Check on
their health service costs to the
individual.
No, we do not want to sell
America short, but we do want
to face the facts. Finally, before
establishing an erroneous basis
for self-satisfaction, Mr. Mu
nion should do some more in
tensive reading of economic
and political commentaries by
experienced and successful
Americans such as Theodore K.
Quinn, a vice-president of GE
(“Unconscious Public
Enemies”), or the proceedings
of Congress.
R.H. Harvard
Retired professor
Eugene
Much worse
Michael Cross (ODE, Jan. 14)
contends. ",. .the founders of
this nation did not believe
everything meant to com
municate was to be protected by
the first amendment." —au
contraire!
Protection of all forms of ex
pression was precisely what the
framers of the Constitution had
in mind. The purpose of the
first amendment is to protect
minority or unpopular opinion
from suppression by the majori
ty. It says. "Congress shall pass
no law respecting an establish
ment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech
or the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.”
Here, the key phrase is,
"Congress shall pass no
law. .
While I loathe violence to
women and children, and con
sider the sexual exploitation of
any person to be the lowest form
of human endeavor, I prefer to
see pornographic trash on the
newsstands rather than allow j
any person or persons to control
what I may read and write.
Laws against the exploitation
of children are quite explicit
and the resulting pornography
is unlawful because of these
statutes.
Definitions of pornography
are elusive and largely subjec
tive. To grant any group the
power to decide what is por
nographic and what is covered
by the first amendment is
precisely what the framers of
the Constitution sought to
preclude in the ail inclusive
syntax of the amendment. Por
nography may be dangerous
and oppressive, but censorship
is much worse.
George Bergeron
Graduate
letters policy
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