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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1994)
EDITORIAL r Abortion pill extends the right to choose Tii« controversial “abortion pill.” RU-486. < amt* a stop closer to widespread availability in tho United Status earlier this month after its French manufacturer agreed to hand the technology and patent rights for the pill over to a non-profit contraceptive organization in New York, known as the Population Council. Pro-choice advocates praise the move; pro-life groups predictably decry it Disagreements over the morality of abortion are not likely to be resolved soon, regard less of the progress of RIJ-4B6. Hut as long as women maintain their right to an abortion — and as long as the Supreme Court continues to uphold that right then there is no reason to insist that women go through surgery rather than take a less-dangerous pill. RU-486 has been used by between 150,000 and 200.000 women in France alone and has been taken by thousands more in Britain. Sweden and China. Although the drug must go through clinical tests in this country'be fore receiving government approval, a process that will delay the drug's availability until at least the summer of 1996. there is no reason to expect, given the drug's su< cess rate, that approval will not arrive even tually. The Population Council estimates that from 25 per cent to 40 percent of abortions now performed surgical ly could be done with RlJ-486. The pill is not expected to completely supplant surgical abortions because it i an be used only until the seventh week of pregnancy. There have been some concerns that making the pill available here would Increase the number of abortions and simultaneously reduce the seriousness of abortion turning it into a casual decision made with little or no regard for the fetus/baby. This fear rests on the false assumption that taking RU-486 would be as simple as just going to the medicine cabinet and popping a pill. Women using Kl 486 will have to go to their doctors at least three times once to lake the pill, again to take a net essary follow-up drug and a third time as a checkup for infix lion. Additional visits to discuss the pill and the pregnancy itself are likely. And using the pill is painful bei aose expelling the embryo can take several days. For these reasons, even an RU-486 abortion would require serious contemplation and effort. There are many reasons why a woman might prefer Rl -486 to a surgical abortion. She may fear surgery itself; she may be intimidated by the pro-life groups that regularly protest clinics in some cities. Ur, if she lives in a rural area, she may have to travel 100 miles or more to find a clinic or doctor to perform a surgical abortion. My contrast. RU ttui would be available from any doctor, anywhere. The abortion issue will i ontimio to divide Amerii ans for years to come. Rl' 486 won't change that What it will change is the ai cessibility of abortion. Kl 486 will extend the right to choose to many women who previ ously did not have it women for whom surgical abor tion seemed too dangerous, difficult or distant. As long as abortion is legal, it should also be available to all. Oregon Daily Emerald Manning Edilw EddwM Editor Graphic* Editor Fraalanca Editor P 0 BO* JIM EUGENE OREGON »?*M TN» Ot9QOO Dfrty f-T'firitkl pubhthod l;v, M >vtay though Friday dunng !»•»© %chc*>j and Tuesday and Thursday durmg ih» jumwei by fhe OrfQOft Oa«iy Emerald MktfwoCo. Inc., a* the Unrver*4y of Oregon. f ugano Otgon ?b« lrrorAkj CQ&*'**■ •ocMpandentty oi tn« Unvervty w»th ofV.es> Su4e 300 of fhe t-'fb Memorial Un*on and »s a member of tf«o Associated PtMi Tb« f for .tact >5 privafo property The unlawful removal or use of papers .* prosecutable by law Editor-in-Chief Jafce Hwg Caf**y Anderson Sports Editor Steve Mma David Thom Editorial Editor Je#t p<thatl Je« Paaidy Photo Editor Mchaei Sexier Aiaind Baum Supplements Editor K*y Soto Night Editor Galley Anderson Associate Editors, t dward Klopfensten. SfuAe* taotemmartrAcrisrbOT.. Rebecca Merrrtt. Commurvfy, MnalNnrie hSrnes ASpN* ( di.jcj*l*c>fi'Adm*ixstr»t»Qn News Staff Lon lk*tt nes*>. Wlson Chan Dave Ovjvtxvvoeau Amy Colombo. J»m Dans. Ateg Dadotph. Amy Devenport T ash a rchenseher Mafia f lekls. Martin f<she*. Sarah Henderson. Yin l eng leong. Suianne Made. Manus Meiand Trisfa Noel, f itsabef* Keensejcvna. Rohb*e Reeves Kate Sabourm, lia SaAcrcoa, Scott Srmonson. Stepfw»e Sisson. Susanna SteHerts. Mehel* Thompson Amy Van Tuyi. Daniel Wes’ General Manager Judy Rad Advertising Director Mart Waite Production Manager M * <** Rosa Advertising: Bnan Davis. Sufor Dutta N»co)e Merima?%. Teresa Isabelle. Jeff M.r on Jeremy Mason. Me heal M->tte. Ke&sey Wefce*'< Classified Bet«y Marchers Veto* M©j*a. S*m T/e Tecs Distribution: John long, I envy.- Raft0C?>. Giraham Smpvm Business ► i” » v'.ri* ••*» ,s.,;y* k v • J..d‘> ('.■ , Production Dee McCoOb. 'Vcoucfon Coordvvtfor Shewna Abe* Greg Desmond. Tara Gauttney. Brad Joss. Jennifer Rosarxl Natl Thang»v», Clayton Yee Newsroom >46*5511 Display Advertising >40*3712 Business Office >46*5512 Classified Advertising >46-4>43 2 0/tKXY? , £ /TV ■ik 1 IV.Vtln^Etria M* Ot irv> A A UlE HAVE TD ^AA*cE SoRE WE RE GETT/^G Rcsvvn n^row BE VERGED. Am) the HJEiucTS JHoucDN'r Be just TACTS... Skills AW eQoALL'i /MPorrrANT. A M4Y8£ w£ CoulO /S Ji>€ 4 \ ' P£«F06KAAIC£ ASSfSVMCwr \ ft£vi£uj PEPoCT ' MoM-BtwDiuj, (^POftTVWr. 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A w%»v4‘ *0? l,f* ‘jar uarmvg AfJYTWtJG Wf CAU. 7WAT IMJWOH 8uft£*uU?ACv SKILLS' COMMENTARY Fisher’s attack tramples truth By Kevin Hombuckle Despite Ihe great need for useful information and analysis of social and eco nornii developments, the Enter old serves primarily as a prai • tuing ground for students wonting to make careers in the thought « onlrol industry Some component ol the industry, which likes to t ail itself "jour nalism" to disguise its systems! u service to the wealthy and their corporations, will open its arms to Kmem/t/columnist Mar tin I isher when he graduates louking to climb another rung on the profession's ladder It will he an easy , quick step lor fisher Iks lU ise he has proved himself proficient at trampling truth and insulting the need lor democrat y I ake fur example his mean spirited attack on me (Of)/., Mart h i) In it he refers to me as "the child" at the Kugene City Council table with whom other t ount iltirs ("adults") must plead to vote "along common sense lines ” Hut fisher does not explain die Iwsis of the "sense" tie refers to. The basis is really ruling i lass servii e. hut he leaves it unstated. His fundamental dif ferent.e with me is that he tielieves capitalism is democrat ic Vet rather than attempt to say st» affirmatively and try to prove it. Mr Fisher waged a character attack against me that revealed how truly shallow and ideolog ically obedient one must be to attain the journalistic status and opportunity that Fisher enjoys. Paragraph after paragraph. Fisher slashes at my reputation with sharp words backed by nothing hut very vague general izations There isn't even one mention of an actual issue that has come before the City Coun cil. only stereotype and name calling, for instance, he suggests that I act like a baby to coerce the council to "replace the city charter with the Communist Manifesto." With no specific accusation of wrongheaded pal* it y-making or malfeasance, ! ishwr is reviving the prartii e of s\ 11c h hunting wherein evidence is necessarily arbitrary le g . "1 know you’re wicked because Cod tub! me the devil is vour master ’’) Fisher wrote, "llornbuckle wouldn't know good govern ment if it full on Ins head Being a representative means making compromises. You vote for another representative's pro grams, and in turn, that repre sentative supports vour pro grams It may not be perfect, but that s the way it works Unless you're llornbiu kle " !m redible' Fisher writes as if he's arguing for good government, vet he endorses vole trading as a svs tematit method of governing Don't vote on print iple \'ute out of political expedient e This is Fisher's shameless notion of how sot iety should be run This is why he'll go far up the ladder of tlie corporate media, whose job is to justtfv the grass roots inequalities political back st retching has created from day one of this country In his column ("Dump Horn hut.kle") Fisher encouraged peo ple to sign a recall petition against me, which was filed by a young man who'd never met me or telled me, nor written to me about problems with my actions Nor had he come to any City Council meetings to research the effects of my vot ing. Hut he went to the media to announce that Ins personal dis like for me is so strong that I should be kicked out of office. Martin Fisher's ethics are simi larly in the gutter of character assassination He has never interviewed me for a story, has never called to ask me to explain a vote I'd made and didn't call to interview me aland the points in the column in question. No, facts are bothersome impediments to ideologists in the thought control industry. This is because the social and t'l.immim. fm ts point straight to the need for so< ial reorganiza tion based on human need instead of corporate greed. Yes, Lenin was corns t when ho said that freedom of the press will be achieved when the people own the presses. Martin expressed befuddle nienl that Ward t voters would choose to believe the "confused rnmblings of a disenfranchised socialist" and deliver me to office with a very decisive win, Martin is the confused one He’ll he similarly' unable to explain why voters have refused to sign the recall petition — enough so that the question won’t even make it to the ballot The truth is that 1 get mam letters and calls of support from people in and out of Ward .) Democracy is a very popular thing, especially with the people who agree that the Hill of Rights must he extended to ini lude the right to a job, to the right health care and to the right to safe, affordable housing. I have the solid support of the working class people because 1 am not at all confused that < upitalism has never and can never provide these basic elements of a just society On the day of this writ ing. for instance. I got a letter from a person who wrote, "I think of you as a writer and a teacher." Losing vote after vote on the City Council does not cause me the demoralization Martin Fish er and his role models at the Register-Guard would hope to instill. To the contrary, it causes me to hold the torch of democ racy and struggle higher and more strongly. The economic elite are firmly in control of the City Council, but they shudder at the thought of the people dis covering that there is a way to win equality and justice. Kevin Hombuckh is Ward 3‘s representative on the Eugene City Council
