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
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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.
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