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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2000)
Taxes continued from page 1 enue reports a 55 percent in crease in Oregon. “We have been busy with elec tronic filing this year more than ever,” Eugene H & R Block Premi um tax consultant Betty Williams said. “Everybody seems to be us ing it.” Both IRS and ODR officials say they will continue promoting electronic tax filing until they reach the goal set by Congress to have 80 percent of all tax reports filed via the Internet by 2007. In addition to saving paper, elec tronic tax filing reduces the possi bility for errors and makes the en tire process quicker for both tax collectors and taxpayers, ODR spokeswoman Deni Cooperrider said. The only catch to filing elec tronically is that both the federal and state income tax reports must be filed together, Cooperrider said. “On-line filing cuts down on the number of steps in the process,” she said. “We certainly hope peo ple will continue using e-filing in increasing numbers.” On the taxpayers’ end, on-line filing programs safeguard against errors by checking math computa tions. Once the file is completed, it is sent directly to the appropriate department, thereby reducing the possibility of mistakes being made in the mail room or tax collectors’ offices, where data from hard copies is entered into computers. Another advantage for taxpay ers, Cooperrider said, is that elec tronic filing yields quicker refund payments. “Refunds could be received as fast as nine days, where it could take eight weeks, even when there are no complications,” Cooperrid er said. The tax season usually creates last-minute filers flocking to post offices to meet the deadline, IRS spokesman David Haikin said. By using the Internet to file, however, he said taxpayers can now stay at home and avoid the crowds. CCwe have been busy with electronic filing this year more than ever. Everybody seems to be using it Betty Williams Eugene H & R Block Premium tax consultant Jy McCorvey continued from page 1 like a movie plot, full of unexpected twists and turns, leading to a destination no one could have imagined. McCorvey, 52, shared her story, which she calls “Won by Love,’’.with nearly 400 attendees Saturday at a conference spon sored by Oregon Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion political organization. When the short, red-haired woman ap peared before the audience at Valley River Inn’s conference center, audience mem bers spontaneously rose to their feet. One attendee didn’t jump to his feet, but it wasn’t because he disliked McCorvey’s stance on abortion. John Dreiling, 25, a stu dent at Lane Community College, was born with spinal bifida, which requires him to use a wheelchair. Describing him self as a disabled Oregonian, he praised McCorvey for her change of heart. “She’s realized that abortion is the tak ing of a human life,” he said. “Abortion goes to the heart of a person with a disabil ity. My life was certainly at risk, and if my parents hadn’t been opposed to abortion, it would have been completely legal to abort me.” McCorvey made her stance on abortion crystal clear. “I’m happy to report that I have become 100 percent pro-life without exception, without compromise and without apolo gy,” she said. Born in Louisiana in 1947 as Norma Leah Nelson, McCorvey was married at age 16, was divorced shortly thereafter and was a mother twice before she became pregnant in 1969 with her third child — the famous “Roe” baby. After seeking to obtain a secret abortion she met Sarah Weddington, the young lawyer who filed a class-action suit, and took her case all the way to the Supreme Court. McCorvey, meanwhile, gave birth to a baby girl, whom she gave up for adop tion. She chose to remain anonymous and drifted out of the public eye. In 1984, McCorvey said she received a letter from Weddington, asking her to lend support to the abortion rights cause. Thus, Jane Roe went public. She granted inter views, gave speeches and published her autobiography. There were articles, televi sion shows and even a movie that won two Emmy awards. In the mid-1990s, she was busy working at an abortion clinic in Dallas. But the abortion clinic would be getting new neighbors — and not just any neighbors. A local chapter of Operation Rescue, the controversial anti-abortion organization that advocates 1960s-style civil disobedi ence, moved in next-door. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, there is going to be bloodshed,’” McCorvey said. “I didn’t know whether to call the press or the po lice, so I called both.” Although she didn’t elaborate at the conference on the clashes between pro testers and clinic employees, she said that chief among her adversaries in those days was Philip “Flip” Benham, Operation Res cue’s local leader in Dallas. McCorvey said the pair’s shouting matches melted into conversations when Benham approached her to apologize for a hurtful statement he had directed toward her. “I was very moved for some reason [and] I couldn’t figure out why,” she said. She began talking to the protesters be tween her duties at the clinic. “They were always smiling, and they i (I’m happy to report that l have become 100 percent pro-life without exception, without com promise and without apology. Norma McCorvey formerly known as Jane Roe were always happy,” she said. “I thought it was disgusting. But I thought, ‘I’m not happy. What do they have that makes them happy?”’ Soon after, she accepted an invitation to attend a local evangelical church. There she became a born-again Christian. Images of her baptism were displayed across the nation in August of 1995. She quit her job at the clinic and began answering telephones for Operation Res cue. In 1997, she formed her own organi zation called Roe No More, and she cur rently travels the country speaking at anti abortion events. In 1998, she was con firmed into the Roman Catholic Church. “I did drugs. I did a lot of things, but when I was baptized, all that was washed away as far as the east is from the west,” she said. “I’m a Jesus freak. It’s the best thing in the world that could happen to a young woman is to love God and to love his word and to be his servant.” As McCorvey ended her 30-minute speech, audience members rose to their feet once again. A 43-year-old woman who asked that her name not be used because she hadn’t discussed the situation with her adopted daughter, said she appreciated McCorvey’s speech because she felt it was genuine. “I had an abortion when I was in my 20s, and it’s the biggest regret of my life,” she said. “Norma’s made some of the same mistakes I went through. I had no idea that she’d been through such a tough life. She speaks to the common people.” For Father Michael Boyle, the assistant pastor of St. Eugene Orthodox Church, McCorvey’s speech was a challenge to him to maintain a loving attitude in the abor tion debate. “The one thing that struck me is that God wins the hearts of people with truth,” he said. “We think we need to have our ar guments lined up, but in the end, it’s love that makes the difference. We get so caught up in the politics, that we forget about the cup of cold water.” r' Buy an ice-cold Coca-Cola-classic from any specially marked on-campus vending machine and you cduld win a Blockbuster $5 gift Card. Offer ends May 4, 2000. Th© great taste goes best with a meal where someone saves you a seat. €> 2000 The Coca-Cola Company "Cocs-Coia" and the Contour Bottle de5«n are revered trademarks of The Coca-Cob Company No purchase necessary. Game starts on or about 5/15/00 3nd will be generally available ,n spec.ally-marked on-campus vending macNnes until 5/4/00 or wh.le supplies last. Entr.es must be receded by 6/1/00 For detaOs, sea Offtc.al Rules at participate* Blockbuster store locations.
