EDITORIAL
Sacred Heart policy
should be respected
Sacred Hear! General Hospital was founded on reli
gious values. For years, the hospital has refused to allow
abortions or any other medical procedure deemed
immoral by the Catholic Church.
As a private organization. Sacred Heart has every right
to operate as it pleases. Although patients may disagree
with the hospital's firm stanco against abortion, they
must respect their care givers. And physicians practicing
at Sacred Heart should understand the rules of their
employer. If the hospital were founded as a public orga
nization. doctors and patients could try to change this
situation.
Conflict over Sacred Heart's abortion policies erupt
ed after Sister Monica Heeran. president of the Sacred
Heart organization, refused to accept a plan that would
have allowed doctors to continue practicing abortions at
their clinic after it merges with Sacred Hoar!.
Physicians and other Eugene residents say the hospi
tal shouldn't apply its religious standards to a secular
community, especially if the organization is going to
control most of the local health care market. Sacred
Heart Health System already provides about 70 percent
of hospital service* in Lane County and will provide a
similar portion of outpatient services after mergers with
The Eugene Clinic, the Oregon Medical Group. Women's
Care and other specialty clinics
Abortion rights advocates say Sacred Heart's strict reli
gious policies overtook the important medical needs of
women.
However. this debate isn't about morality or religion.
It's about ownership ami private rights. The clinics that
may be absorb**} by S.tcrod Heart know that the hospital
is a private organization. Employees of anv private busi
ness know they must respect the wishes of their employ
er or find someplace else to work.
If the affected clinics do not want to change their alx>r
tion policies to meet Sacred Heart's religious standards,
they should oppose any mergers w ith the Eugene hos
pital. Sacred Heart has not tried to keep its firm Catholic
values a secret, and doctors shouldn't be surprised that
they can t perform abortions once they are employed by
Sacred Heart.
Abortion right- advocates shouldn't attack Sacred
Heart's policies as if they were newly drafted. For years,
local doctors and patients have act epted the rules with
out much protest. People have alternatives for abortions
in Lane County, and although the merger will take away
a portion of these options. Sacred Heart shouldn't be the
victim of rallies and protests fur standing by something
it has believed in since its founding
People involved in this issue need to step away from
the traditional pro choice-pro life argument and focus
instead on the ramifications of private control None of
these i linn - ate being forced to merge with Sat red Heart,
but If they do thov should be prepared to follow the rules.
There’s no doubt that Sai red Heart will have difficul
ty with the widening rift between the hospital's Catholic
values and the Eugene secular community. Hut. as a pri
vate organization, the hospital has a right to stand by
what its founders believe
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■ COMMENTARY
Duck fan’s wish blooms at last
i t-.j"
After proving tin* critic s
wrong and c oming from
behind prm ticaliv the
entire Milton to c linch a solo
position a! the* top of the Pat ifii -
10 Cottfmtu ». the 1004 Oregon
lhi< k football team is heading
south to an exciting match up
with Penn State m the Rose
Row 1
As a fan who has hied green
and gold for the past two
decades, hoping and pravtng
that an Oregon team would one
day swim in the deliciously
sweet aroma of roses. 1 can say
our day has c ome
1 haven't cried yet, but niv sis
ter did after the t livil War game
lor the time living, her tears of
jov ystl! carry me through at
least some of these* wonderful
days
Right now, 1 think the best
way to sum up my feelings is to
turn to the cornu pages.
Hold on, it’s not svhat you
think.
1 feel like ihai lovable under
d«|t Charlie Brown would after
he finally, somehow, some way.
kicked the football that law v has
tauntingly held —and yanked
away at the last sec os id — for so
many wars
Throughout the 1970s and
into the 1980s, l sat on soggv
wooden benches at Autzen Sta
dium w ith thousands of other
Big Creen faithful. Sometimes
the greatest struggle in the con
test was in the stands, as fans
tried their best to keep from
c atching pneumonia from the
cold and drizzle of those wet
years.
I was there the year Air Force
beat us in the pouring rain — a
game and afternoon so dismal
that the Air Force mascot, a wet
and miserable falcon, refused to
fly at halftime
I remember one particularly
ugly Duck game at Autzen when
some fans started being nasty to
one another As 1 sat there w ith
a high school buddy, some no
life jerks several rows behind us
started tossing garbage on our
heads
I was in Husky Stadium early
in the 1980s when the Dawgs
put a cheap-shot late hit on
then quarterback Chris Miller,
injuring him and putting him
out of the game Do you remem
ber that one' Can you feel my
pain? in that battle, we won
everything except the game.
Kven The Seattle Times admit
ted the Dowgs tame away with a
victory they didn't deserve
I was there when the Ducks
and Beavers fought to a 0-0 tie in
the t onferem « struggle for last
place in the infamous ice Bowl
The only highlight of that game
was when the clot k finally ran
out
in spite of those disappointing
years ami some games that are
ties! forgotten, the teams of yes
turday had heroes and moments
of glory
Names like Reggie Ogburg,
Dw ight Moser and Steve Cre.it
wood who through my memory,
reminding me of good teams
with tons of heart, but. sadly,
ones that many times came up
shorter on the scoreboard than
their opponents
To admit to biting a real Du< k
fan is to admit to being in a
painful relationship The Ducks
broke my heart year after year —
which is why 1 had to finally get
out of the relationship lost year,
the first year 1 missed several
home games
Gasp' Yes it's true I had to
stop loving the Dui ks so
intensely. basil ally for my own
good
So what happens' This fall 1
decide to go to Indiana for a
three'month journalism course
and miss the entire 1994 season
Despite my glaringly obvious
absence from the stands, the
Dui ks capture an outright Pa<
to t hampionship and a trip to
the Rose Boys! All this while
Tin gone
After 18 years of wandering in
the medio* re desert. Huh
Brooks and his coat hing staff
and players deserve their trip to
the promised land. They earned
it.
Their come-from-behind
tenacity also earned them
national attention and ranking.
This turned out to be the magi
cal season where the media cov
ered the Ducks almost as well as
the Gang Green defense covered
offenses throughout the confer
ence Gan you sav KSPN and
AIU TV ’ Sports Illustrated f No
12 in the nation' It has been
crazy, and it has been a lot of
fun.
Vep. 1 missed the season, the
game, the drive, the interception
and the boat, forgive me if 1 hog
all tlu» Dm k paraphernalia on
sale in every store from Portland
to Ashland
I missed the Ducks beating
both Arizona teams in the same
season, bat k to bat k
By the time I got home, it was
only t wo days before the Civil
War, and tickets hud long since
been gobbled up.
1 did watch the game on tele
vision, but to be honest. I didn't
think the Ducks were going to
pull it off in the end like they
did, just like they had all season.
1 just didn't believe they could
do it
And maybe that is the differ
ence between the 1994 Oregon
football team and many of those
luckless teams of yesterday
The difference with this Dm k
team and this golden season
with its hearty young men and
high hopes is that when every
one else gave up on them (admit
it, many of us did. and so early
in the season), they never gave
up On themselves
When it was third and long
and the prisoners were being
taken «s the city burned, they
still believed in themselves
This is why our boys, and God
bless every last one of them, are
going to Pasadena in 1995.
David V Bartlett is a senior
motoring in journalism