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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1994)
EDITORIAL r Clinton commits to abortion rights Although some of the groups that helped get President Clinton elected have expressed disappointment with his performance in office, at least one group has no right to complain — abortion rights advocates. Throughout his administration. Clinton has remained true to his campaign promises to pro-choice groups. Ear ly in his term, he issued an executive order to allow abortions in militan hospitals and then overturned the Bush administration's "gag rule." which prohibited abortion counseling in federally funded clinics In recent months, his administration has successfully pressured a French pharmaceutical company to release the patents and technology for RIM86. the so-called "abortion pill." to allow the drug to eventually la* distributed here. And on Thursday. Clinton took yet another strong step toward solidifying federal protection of abortion rights by signing legislation that will make blocking at cess to abortion clinics subject to heavy fines and lengthy prison sentences. The new law. which takes effect immediately, pro hibits abortion protesters from using force or threats against patients and employees and from physically blocking access to clinics. Violators are subject to fines of up to a quarter of a million dollars and jail time rang ing from six months to life. Critics have argued that the law violates their First Amendment right to free speech. However, the law only prevents the use of physical force or intimidation Pro testors can stand by with signs and yell all they want; but they will no longer la? able to act like bullies, or use their bodies to obstruct entry into clinics. Those who do will be appropriately punished. The new law probably will not have much immedi ate effect. Pro-life groups, ironically named, have com mitted hundreds of criminal acts to protest abortion, including 38 bombings, 81 cases of arson, 131 death threats, 84 assaults, two kidnappings, and the murder of Hr. David Gunn in Florida. All these activities were ille gal. but that didn’t stop them from happening. In addition, conspiracy to stop women from having abortions may be punishable under federal racketeering laws as well, the Supreme Court ruled in January. So this new law will effectively take away one more weapon that pro-lifers have wielded in their crusade to stop abortion. What's more, it sets a tone of official intol erance for those individuals who would seek to impose their own vision of what the law should be. in opposi tion to the law of the land. Abortion is legal in this country. If pro-life groups have a problem with that, then they need to mobilize their forces, lobby their government, and change the law — by constitutional amendment, if necessary. That probably sounds like a daunting task. Surely, it would be more difficult than ganging up and bullying women who are. in many cases, going through a life cri sis. If right-to-life activists are too impatient to achieve their aims politically, and legally, then too bad. This country shouldn't tolerate any more vigiiantism. Oregon Daily Emerald cm at Su<e 300 of the % prOMCUt*t*c Men agin of EdHorWld Editor Editor Graphic* I cKtor Free4anc# Editor P0 80* It» (UCfNC 0M.0Q*V*tt ^ Cy^fcv ,'W> i % pUtwnhed datfy Monday though Friday dunng the v\<> yaa* ancj Toesday and Thursday du?»ng the lumma by the Dragon Da!y tme»ai<| Pubfcshmg Co . Vv a? the Owers<?y oi Oregon, Eugene Oregon T h# fc**va«? op*K ales xsepvwxientiy o» the Urwar*?y c f’t Manorial U^on anj it » member o< »N> Aaaooated Press the f"*erakiit pnvat# property The uniaiia*^ removal or um Editor >tn-Ch*ef JaAe tW g Gaftey Anderson Sports Editor Steve Mms David Thom Editorial Editor Jan PcfeNad? Jeff Paaftay Photo Editor M~ -..** Shmdto A;i*na Baum Supplements Editor Kafy Soto Might Editor Soon Smtonaon Associate Editors i deard htoptemte^ 5/io*irv ck.Hr*"'~n't 4cr*-?-r*. Rata*. ■ a Mi- • *1 Com *'.>vfv ♦leather'# i-sm#* r*gNw ITdUcaecvvAdmjnyteraeon Ftows Staff i <v tier* #<*-* A v- Oar D*ve Chartonnea A~> , - ,-:.v Dav-s Mag Dadotpf' Amy Oavaoport Taaha t ■cNtosaha' Ma a Fields MaM.r \ .*ber Sarah Henderson, T;n Lang ldong. Soia'-ne Marta. Ma- ~s Me-and Tr*»?a Nee; I > tao-e?* Reenstjerna, Hottfve Reeve* Kate Sabourm Lia Saocca Scott S*mon»on, Season Susann# Stoker** Mchcve Thompson Amy van Tuy* Der**» a«*v General Manager Judy R*ec* Advertising Director Man A after Production Manager Ross Advertising Br an Dl» * SuD*» DuJta N-:o:t Herjman Te-esa 'sabe^e Jan Mu tor Jeremy Meson Mchae* MPeR# Kes»ey Area* Ctaea/hed Becky Merchant, Manager Victor Me*a S-m Tjre Tec* Distribution John Long. Ferenc Raftocii, Graham $«mpeon Business Aafhy Carbone Sc*3ervc*y Judy ConnoPy Production Dee McCobb, Product*# CoorcknaAv Shaerva A&#«* Greg Desnvyxl Ta d Gauitoey. Brad Josa Jerwter f*p*and. Man fhang**t. Qeyton Yee - 344-5SM Display Advertising.. 3440712 Office .- MWS12 Classified Advertising .34*~434j Stephan*# * The human I»dy has a vast, / complicated network / of Hood vessels, which if laid end to end, would reach about 100,000 miles l VJkich, for comparison purposes, is about % as long as the fine print, in the Clinton Health Plan \ Mtll I °C*ni *■*■>•* and 40ot/T& AS v PCOAJC TOCLCX^lHC, OPINION Folk festival plagues University again Robbik Rhus Enjoy the \V!IUttirUf Valiev Folk Festival Ft si weekend? I know I did. In fact, I enjoyed ii so much that 1 caught up with my assigned reading in five classes, due to the amount of time I spent in the library trying to avoid the festival. Maybe I’m a no-fun sort of per son But when there is the Street Fair blocking 13th Street for days on end. followed by a weekend of congestion and noise at the FM!", my sense of enjoyment for our local men bants and musi cians drops significantly. It's not that I don't think that folk music is artistic or valuable. It is It's just that the people who tame to see the folk festival man aged to alter the landscape of the surrounding area. OK. I won't beat around the hush Folk fest watchers destroyed the lawn, as well as surrounding flower beds at the Carson residence hall I know. y ou don't tare Believe mt*. I understand A little main tenance work, a hit of money. and voila! Instant lawn Hut consid ering how many hands have played on the FMl' Fast lawn in the past two weeks, I propose eliminating the lawn complete ly Mavhe paving the entire law n over with concrete would be more appealing to some, and would certainly eliminate the costs of fixing the greenery around the EMU year after year, t hen again, maybe the l 'diversi ty should just install permanent seating in the lawn and rent it out weekly for concerts It wouldn’t he a stretch from what is hap pening now Granted, the folk festival gives the University community the chain e to experience a bit of the local culture, such as what hemp candy tastes like After all, how could we get along without that ' Another of my favorite activi ties from the folk festival is get ting to meet all of the neat peo ple You know, like the guy who appears so wasted that he just sort of col lapsed on a nearby dorm lawn, or the person who asks you for money And some people wonder why the dorms were on 24-hour lock up There should lx* a sort of Uni versity clean-up after the lawn is used for the last time in the spring Perhaps University Day, the day when University groups and individual students work on cleaning up the campus, could tie moved back until after the folk festival It would help clean up the area. I can understand how festivals like this one can Ixmefit the local community I’m not totally down on the folk festival. It s just that this one lasted the longest and was the most irritating But is there a way that organizers can handle the event differently' Perhaps festivals could l*« held in the Quad, the lawn area bor dered by PLC. Condon and Chap man halls, and the Knight Library. The area seems bigger, and no one would probably care if the community ground the lawn into a pulp. Overflow view ers and participants could listen from the ninth floor of PLC. Lven if outdoor concerts wore rotated between the two areas, it would be better. I'm getting real ly su k of having a different band play daily in the immediate area around my dorm It would In? less irritating if someone just banged two metal garbage can lids in front of my door all night long. Then again, given the right justi fication. that could probably be called folk music as well. But. being a realist and know ing that I’ll bo in the dorms again next year, I'll gear up for the folk festival Wavin' I'll go to the coast for the weekend. Whatever I do. it won’t have a thing to do with the University campus. If I want to buy something from festival merchants. I'll go to Sat urday Market. If I want to listen to music, 1 can go just about any where in the city and find musi cians playing. But let me come to you Having numerous musical and festival type groups moving into my "backyard." so to speak, can get pretty damn old after a while, like two weeks 1 guess I'll look forward to the folk festival next year. That is, looking forward to leaving town during the festival Robbie Heeves is a columnist for the Kmerald. ET ALS MliTINt. *«* Ta»k Ion* >•;i! r.r*at !i»ln *« ® 4* am in Room JW) Oregon Hail For mom information. call 34b 1133 MISCELLANEOUS Htlkrl will toiwlutl a Shabhat * «*£*•’tntn potluch tonight «t 6 30 al 707 E 1 *th For roorr information. call >43 \*rtn»mnr Student Asmmia<*oa mil com duct lha Samar flan^oat tonight at 6 at tha Kortuna Irm For mote information, call 04& *H6? EASCNA car. halp with rat over> from drug addiction For mom information call *41 60 ?0 International Student Association will : aftdac:! *!«* t ions tonight •' ft in the KMl Intemetumai lounge For more information, (■*U 346-4 3*7 International Student AiMKiKion will conduct an end of veer *.» *1 end ewerd m Moo today •! S pm m the EMU Internet ion el l ounge For more informal ton. call 346 43ft? I ai«mit« Housing will conduct an open meeting of the Houiio| Advisory Hoard today at 4 30 p m io the Been Wmi Confer toe* Room For more information, call 346 4269 Pacifica lews will present a news com manierjr today from 11 4S im to 1 IS p m m tb* Wt**ie> C4Mti«r «t 1236 k.OK«id St Tot rtutm information c«ll 144 0481 Headline fw submitting Et .Ms to the Emer *ld front desk. Suite Jt*t) EMI*, it noon the before publication El Alt run the day of the metit unless the event take* nine* before noon and i% reynetted to be fHitdished earii er Sottces of eienls with a donation or admission charge »dl not be arcepted Cam put menu and those scheduled nearest the publication date mill be pm priority The Kmertld reserves the right to edit for gram mat and sty le Et Alt run strictly on a space-available basis
