EDITORIAL Bombs are falling; does anybody care? Familiarity breeds complacency, or so it would seem after the latest round of bombings in Iraq, just this past week, the United States unleashed $30 million worth of Tomahawk missiles into a Baghdad suburb. Ho hum Another day, another air raid. liven the fact that one of the missiles struck a hotol in downtown Baghdad failed to raise more than a cur sory. "Huh?" Without discussing the justification for the attacks, shouldn't any use of American military force be of ut most concern to the American people? Who do you think paid for those $30 million firecrackers? From 1941 to 1975. the American military was en gaged in a virtual merry-go-round of war. and through the miracle of television. America became desensitized to the act of war. Sure, they were weary of the burden, but seeing bombs fall and bullets flv raised no more in terest than the daily weather report. After a five-year respite, the military proved it had sunk to new lows when it failed miserably in its at tempt to rescue the American hostages in Tehran America's elite forces i ouldn't even get airborne. Not until Oct. 25, 1983, did America begin utilizing its armed forces. On that day, I S. Marines and Army Rangers defeated a group of Cuban construction work ers and liberated American medical students trapped on the island of Grenada. This was big news. Regular programming was in terrupted, newspapers ran banner headlines on the front page, and the topic of discussion everywhere fo cused on the use of American forces. Three years later. American planes bombed Tripoli, Libya, and again American responded with shock, anger or joy. But at least it responded. There was inter est. Since 1989. U.S. troops have been increasingly ac tive, beginning with the invasion of Panama and ending most recently with the Persian Gulf War. It seems to bo a result of the latter conflict that Amer ica has grown bored with the image of American bombs flattening numerous buildings. Technically, tho United States can justify its actions because the war isn't officially over. Rather, there is, or at least was, a cease-fire in place. The cease-fire agree ments have been violated and renewed action is legally justifiable. But that shouldn't be cause for apathy. Military ac tion puts lives at risk and creates huge economic costs for those on either side of the barrel. When Americans cease being interested in the ac tions of their military, the ability of tho military to act unilaterally, without being forced to answer for its ac tions, increases dangerously. If the media, including this paper, are doing their jobs, tho American people should have no excuse for being disinterested. Pay attention. Daily PO 00* JiV* CuGCMC 0«f OON The c>«gon Dftity t:rr,**Bid % published daily Monday through f nd*i during the SChCK* year and T uesday »xJ Thursday during the summer py the Oregon D*>ty Emera*} PuOifh mg Co Inc . a? the Urwerffty O* O©gon, f .tgene. Oregon Th# t merest operates ndependentfy ol the Untv©'s-Ty with oh»c©« at Suit* 300 oi the trt) Memorial Union and «s a memo** ot the Assoc ..at no Press Th« E-rrari >• private property The untawM removal or use o* papers >s prosecutac*© by >aw Editor. Pat Maiach Oregon Emerald N«w« Editor Editorial Editor QrapMct Editor Entartainmaol Editor .take ftorg Mf ■sf'ar t rtva Ho™ Fra#lane* Editor Editorial Editor Sports Editor I Supplement* Editor Mop* Nt»a*aoo M,v«ys >«vt» Ch*^tX>nrKM^ CaP©> Krytotton wgni tailor. Kat wiaiacn Associate Editors. Tammy Batey S/uderV Gov^rrtm^nlActv1>ta DaMVyn Trappa, Comnv • fv Cc**een Po^Hg M&*' EduCStton 4dm/ntshafton News Staff Chester Aiien Maxfy Baocum Matt Bender Justm Brown, Sarah Dar». 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COMMENTARY New rulings obscure Roe vs. Wade By Sally Sheklow 'an. 22. ll)‘i t. marks the 20th anniversary of Koe vs Wade Twenty years of safe, legal — n not always m < essible — abor tion Tor supporters of women's rights around the country, this is a time of celebration and refit* turn Although we are nil pleased to be celebrating the 20th anni versary of Koe vs, Wade and the inauguration of the new pro choice administration, we sadly remember the hypocrisy, dan ger and fear that engulfed the lives of women during the "bad old days" when abortion was illegal. f’rior to legalization, abortion complications had reached epi demit proportions Many hos pitals throughout the country had specific wards sot up to treat women for uterine perfo ration. hemorrhage, massive pelvic infection and incomplete abortion. Untold numbers of women died in these wards Many women never made it to the hospital. Ur Sam Harr was a physician in Pittsburgh during the 1950s and 1960s. Horrified at the many abortion complications he witnessed during his tenure, ho recalls one particular wom an's situation (as cited in A Woman's Hook of Choices . (Talker th Downer. 1992): "I'll never forget one patient She was 32 years old and the mother of two children She was admitted through the emer gency room Her symptoms were relatively mild Her pelvis was moderately tender and her uterus was only slightly en larged, hut she did have a posi tive pregnancy test. "There was one other finding a small puncture point with a little hit of bleeding at the entrance to her uterus ... 'I had to do it.' she said I went to this ladv who put a coat hanger up in me ' With luck I thought the worst diagnosis would be that this woman's bladder had been perforated That would not he pleasant, but hopefully there would he no systematic prob lem. "1 started massive antibiotic treatment immediately, begin ning w ith several transfusions to replace the blood she had lost. Three hours later. I learned I was wrong The laboratory studies indicated an in fee tion with gas gangrene I found her slipping rapidly into heart failure "The last thing I remember her saving to me was. 1 know you tried Figure some way to tell my kids, they won’t under stand at all. Tell them for me somehow, 1 don't want them to think me bad ' She lost con sciousness. and then a little bit later, just before dawn, she died " Women's stories of illegal and dangerous abortions were com monly shared in the con sciousness-raising groups of the late 1960s and early 1970s Le gal access to abortion came to be seen as a prerequisite to women s equality. Feminists understood that in order for women to have control over their lives — or perhaps even to contemplate their own future — women had to have c ontrol over their child bearing. Reform came gradually. Abor tion was available m a few states, hut the vast majority of women who needed them couldn't afford the travel ex penses and exorbitant cost of the hospital sta\ required in some states In sonut of those states, wom en were forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation Women in Oregon were required to con sult with a physician who had to substantiate that continued pregnancy threatened the wom an's health The humiliation, duress and barriers to health care created by these require ments meant that many women could not obtain abortions. Finally, in 1973, the U S. Su preme Court handed down the Roe vs Wade decision In it, the court said that the "right of pri vacy ... founded in the 14th Amendment's concept of per sonal liberty is broad enough to encompass a woman's deci sion whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” The court held that the state had no compelling interest in regulating abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy and could only regulate sei ond tri mester abortions to protec t women's health For the first time in more than 100 years, in every state in the nation. .1 woman could legally exercise i ontrol over her own body Roe vs Wade was the first major victory in a long war that is still being waged against women Over the past 20 years, the legislatures and courts have . been grinding away at redin mg the protei turns granted in Roe to such an extent that women's health is imperiled Medicaid funding ( ills, pa rental consent, waiting periods, state-mandated anti-abort ion informed consent, gag rules and viability testing are some of the major setbacks for women. Women's act ess to abortion has been hampered by mail bombs, vandalism, assaults, blockades, pi* kets, arson and harassment from Operation Res cue, Right to Life and other reli gious extremists and terrorists for years. The Supreme Court's deci sion last week condoned vio lence outside abortion clinics by saying there were no consti tutionally based protections for women seeking abortion. The ( ourt has once again denied women's rights to make u pri vate dec ision unhampered by the stati* and abandoned vital legal protection outside of med ical facilities (The Feminist Women's Health Center's injunction and judgment against Advocates for Life is under appeal, but rever sal is doubtful because the legal issues involved are different than those involved in last week's Brav decision. Our in junction currently remains in full force). It is crucial that the public not be lulled into complacent y after the election of a prochoice president Restrictions on a woman's ability to obtain an abortion — and anti-abortion terrorism — will continue unless we fight to stem the tide of regressive legislation and re pressive court decisions The protections provided by Roe vs. Wade are becoming dangerously obscured. This is creating a crisis in the lives of women in need of reproductive health care. Sally Sheklow is develop ment director for the Feminist Women 's Health Center