Monologue
Idle Hands
By J. Dana Haynes
(First of a two-part series.)
Last week, Richard S. Schweiker resigned
from the job of Secretary of Health and Human
Services in the Reagan cabinet.
However, before he left office, Schweiker
presented a plan to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). He proposed that any family plann
ing clinic supported by federal funds must notify
parents of minors who receive birth control pills,
diaphrams or intrauterine devices (IUD). The pro
posal is known as the “Snitch Rule.”
The reasoning behind the plan is simple. In
Schweiker’s own words, “This department (Health
and Human Services) has a deep responsibility to
protect the health and safety of minor
adolescents who are given prescription birth con
trol drugs and devices paid for with taxpayers
dollars.”
The operative term here, of course, is “. . .
paid for with taxpayers dollars.” For quite ob
viously, Schweiker’s proposal will not, in any way,
protect the health and safety of minors.
The underlying logic behind the proposal
seems to be that if teen-agers want to have sex,
they will first tell mom and dad, and then the en- ,
tire family will stop by Planned Parenthood for an
IUD on the way home from the store.
Or perhaps the theory is that the average
15-year-old will be unable to inform her father that
she wants to have sex with Elmer, so she’ll simply
not get any birth control pills. And since she
doesn’t have any pills, she won’t go to bed with
Elmer.
Could it be that the Department of Health and
Human Services is so dense as to actually believe
either scenario? Or do they realize the only other
outcome will be to have no effect on the amount
of teen-age sex, and a dramatic increase in the
amount of teen-age pregnancies?
Eve Paul, the vice president for legal affairs
for the Planned Parenthood Federation of
America said, “These regulations are an outrage
and threaten the health and well-being of hun
dreds of thousands of teen-agers and their
families.”
In fact, Planned Parenthood is read to take
this fight to the U.S. District Court, even though
the proposal has yet to be accepted by the OMB.
And another voice has come out against the
proposition. Margaret M. Heckler, who has been
nominated by President Reagan to replace
Schweiker as the H.H.S. Secretary, is opposed to
her predecessor’s idea. In fact, Heckler was
against the plan even when she was a member of
Congress.
Last April, Heckler signed her name to the
first of two letters sent to Schweiker. The first let
ter was signed by 32 other members of Congress
and stated that the undersigned feared the regula
tion would “discourage many young people from
utilizing these services and would result in a
drastic increase in the number of teen-age
pregnancies.”
If that was not enough opposition, Represen
tative Henry A. Waxman, D-Cal., referred to the
Snitch Rule as “a heavy-handed move by govern
ment to interfere in personal decisions.” Waxman
is the chairperson of the House Energy and Com
merce subcommittee on Health and the Environ
ment, which has jurisdiction over some of the pro
grams of the H.H.S. Waxman called on Heckler to
stick to her guns on opposing the Snitch Rule,
and vowed to do the same.
Teen-age pregnancy is a definite problem,
and steps must be taken to turn the situation
around. However, making protective devices less
available is a treatment for a symptom, not for the
problem.
The problem is lack of knowledge by minors,
lack of proper, nationwide sex education, and
nonsensical “good-girls-don’t-plan-ahead” peer
pressures.
(Next week: The Planned Parenthood Option.)
Page 2
Oregon at
expenditure
deplorable
By Brett Bigham
Oregon has class. Right?
Oregon has culture. Right?
Oregon can look down at the
more primitive and “unen
lightened” states like Alabama.
Right? . . .Wrong.
Arts in Oregon is pretty
near the lowest ‘man’ on the
totem pole. In fact, out of 50
states, the District of Columbia
and five territories, Oregon
ranks a hot number 51 for arts
spending per capita. That’s
pretty bad.
In fact that’s something
about which the people of
Oregon could really get embar
rassed. We must really look like
hicks to all the cultured people
of Idaho and Nebraska.
Art advocates in the state
are hoping to turn this embar
rassment into support for a new
and heftier arts budget. The in
crease in fact, would be a
whopping 44 percent.
Don’t fool yourself. This
increase sounds like a great
deal but it would only scrape us
up into around 42nd place.
The original budget sought
would have put Oregon into
the 30’s but it was cut down to
keep the proposed state budget
lower.
The committee will be ask
ing for one million dollars for
1983-85. Come on Oregon,
Vs FILBERT, THE PROJECT IB UNDER.
BUDGET. HOWEVER,THAT 15 'NOT H C l CNE j "
that’s not even the cost of an
MX missile.
Governor Atiyeh has been
very supportive of the new arts
budget and on a national level
Congress is even defending the
National Endorsement for the
Arts against budget-cut happy
Reagan. Maybe the country is
finally going to start getting its
head out of military spending
and start spending money on
more enjoyable things. Let’s
face it. Mushroom clouds are
pretty but they cost a hell of a
lot more than a play and there
are no encore performances.
Even with this new budget
(if it passes) it’s not going to be
like an explosion of arts. This
budget is for two years and it is
still pretty skimpy. The sad part
about it is that small art-related
businesses will still have a hard
time getting funds. The state
just won’t have enough money
to invest in all the groups that
come around or try to start up.
With the economy the
way it is I can see why people
would flinch at the idea of
boosting up any budget when
everyone is having to tighten
their belts but arts have been
neglected for too long in
Oregon.
I guess it’s time for Oregon
to get its butt out from in front
of the television and get some
“culture.”
Dialogue
Christmas
article OK
To The Print:
I’d like to express my
response to the letter submitted
to The Print in the last issue
concerning the appropriateness
of Wanda Percival’s article en
titled, “A Christmas Message.”
I agree to what was stated
to the effect that a school paper
should not be a vehicle in
which to preach religion. I do
not, however, object to the ex
hortations quoted from the Bi
ble in her article directed
toward professing Christians. I
have found that more people
are offended by hypocrites
rather than by those who make
it their life to truly follow after
Jesus and His teachings.
The timeliness of Wanda’s
article was especially refreshing
as well, since Christmas is one
of the few times during the year
in which we as a nation even
give recognition to Christ’s
birth. The rest of the year
seems to be devoted to evolu
tion and humanism (a religion
of great offense to many).
When the subject of religions is
discussed, humanism falls into
this category. The only dif
ference between humanism
and other religions is that tax
payers pay for their organiza
tion. “140 billion dollars is
received annually to operate
their vast network of churches,
called schools, colleges, and
universities. There, in the
name of academic. freedom,
only the religion of humanism
can be taught:” (Tim LaHaye,
“The Battle for the Mind”)
In regard to Christianity,
the true Christian should want
to follow his founder if he truly
believes in Him.
Besides, what if every pro
fessing Christian did decide not
to do anything before first ask
ing himself the question, What
would Jesus do? . . . Unless, of
course, as a “christian,” one
has something against Jesus’
example.
Sincerely yours,
Dale Seale
THE PRINT, a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers
Association, aims to be a fair and Impartial journalistic medium
covering the campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opi
nions expressed in THE PRINT do not necessarily relect those of
the College administration, faculty, Associated Student Govern
ment or other members of THE PRINT.
Office: Trailer B; telephone: 657-8400, ext. 309, 310
Editor In Chief: J. Dana Haynes
News Editor: Doug Vaughan
Arts Editor: Brett Bigham
Photo Editor: Duane Hiersche
Darkroom Technician: Roberta Ellsworth
Copy Editor: Kristi Blackman
Staff Writers: Shelley Ball, Rob Conner, Dianna Hardy, T. Jeffries,
F.T. Morris
Staff Photographers: Roberta Ellworth, Duane Hiersche, Troy
Maben, Joel Miller, Rick Obrltschkewitsch
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Clackamas Community College