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commentary Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Ban Act controversy partial-birth Abortion Van Act established as constitutional Matt Olson Commentary Editor On April 18, the Supreme !ourt ruled on the case ]onzales v. Carhart, which istinguished one- form of bortion, partial-birth abor- ion, as criminal. This decision is hardly about eing pro-choice or pro-life. For those people who con- ider themselves “pro-life,” it ears mentioning that the pro- jdure being banned is for use iring the 18th through 26th eeks of the second trimester, hich means that less than percent of all abortions in rnerica fall into that window ftime. This decision and the tecedence it upholds is in no ay getting rid of abortion. Something to consider for lose who are “pro-choice”: ie decision furthers the idea f respecting fetal life. It riminalizes a procedure that i inhumane to a potentially inctional human baby. But, hat exactly does the decision phold? Partial-birth abortion, as it’s idely termed, is in fact a ery specific procedure that known in the medical com- unity as “intact dilation and draction.” The details of the procedure s gruesome. First, the cer- ix is*dilfited_for easy access. :coh3,'T the'' dbctor perfotm- ig the procedure extracts the itus with surgical tools until ie body is outside the womb, inally, the skull of the fetus rhile still within the womb) destroyed, causing the abor- on. Really, the procedure is a nrific act that is unnecessary id medically unsafe. During the passing of the 103 Partial-Birth Abortion an Act, the Supreme Court aard testimony from the ledical community in which it was widely stated that the sary. The semantics of such procedure was unnecessary .distinctions have been debated to protect the health of the / endlessly in the past. There woman, which is the strongest are legal definitions and spe argument many have when cific exceptions that give doc claiming that the Ban Act tors guidelines for that is unconstitutional. diagnosis. Fortunately, the In the April Court Supreme 18 decision, the knows what it’ Supreme Court talking about, maintained its When ques- stance on the dif tioned further, the ferentiation between American Medical protecting life and Association alsc protecting health. agreed that the pro* Justice Anthony cedure was “inhu Kennedy wrote mane” and “unnec the majority opin essary” in nearly ion in the Gonzales all circumstances. v. Carhart case in Viability (when which he maintained the baby is able that there need not to survive out- / be a stipulation side the womb) 1 about the health also falls into the of the mother window of time because partial in which the pro birth abortion is cedure takes place. always unsafe. Viability is dif Considering ferent with every the fact that such a pregnancy, but as small percentage of a precedent it’s abortions occur dur widely believed ing the 18th through to be morally 26th weeks, and it is unsound to abort only in extraordinary after viability circumstances that occurs unless there the life of the mother are medical com is in danger, the Ban plications. Act seems both perfectly Another con- reasonable and legally cem widely voiced sound. Without delving by uninformed pro- into the moral ambiguity choice groups and surrounding the whole sub individuals is the ject and the religious argu concern for the life of ments made about terminat the mother. Of course ing a pregnancy, one must this exception is cov trust in the thorough inspec- ered in the 2003 Ban ■ tion ^of specific laws by the 4 'Supreme Court and the prece 'Act 3rfcT'ev&!y*single other law concern dence established in the past ing abortion. Due concerning abortion. to the ruling in Roe All in all, the decision is not about abortion as a prac v. Wade, which was decided in tice, but about the humanity and safety of a medical pro 1973, there are cedure. The sad thing is that always exceptions that protect maternal this medical issue is embroiled life. in a debate that everyone in the nation feels strongly about, Addressing the and thus has gained opposi difference between a complication that threatens the tion and legal scrutiny simply health of the mother and the because of vehement people life of the mother is unneces- without perspective. Clackamas Print 3 friend down, look her directly in the eye and tell her that you’re losing respect for her. If you’ve already voiced your con cern about the way this asshole is treating her and she doesn’t care to listen, you have to take a more drastic step. She may not care what his hurtful words do to her, but maybe she will pay attention if she sees how it hurts her friends to see this go down. Remind her of how free she was before she met him. I will warn you, though - most likely, your friend will not listen to you. She’ll Dear Dr. Kim, probably cling closer to PLEASE HELP! I have him and stop hanging out a friend who has been dat with you. If she’s been with ing this controlling jerk this guy for eight years, for about eight years. He she’s not going to suddenly treats her like crap, calls “see the light” when you her names, and I suspect he tell her what a jerk he is. Choice # 2 - Continue even cheats on her. I’ve tried talking to her being friends with your about him, but every time friend, completely ignor I do, she gets really distant ing the abuse that goes on with me and stops calling in her life. This may make you me. I know she really loves him, but she deserves so feel like somewhat of a bad friend, but let’s think much better. How can I convince my about this realistically. friend that this guy isn’t Obviously, your friend worth her time? I really likes this kind of nonsense, care about her, and I hate to or she wouldn’t have put up with it for so many years. see her treated this way. Maybe he has other quali ties that you can’t see that Sincerely, Kristie R. keep her hanging around. Who knows? Maybe he’s Dear Kristie, really good in bed, or has a I have never understood healthy trust fund. If he beats her, you why so many amazing, bright and good-hearted should probably call the girls spend their time on cops. But chances are, she losers who don’t deserve won’t press charges and the them. Try as 1 might to abuse will continue. Some wrap my mind around this chicks really love that stuff. concept, clarity eludes me And hey - if she’s dating him, there’s one less loser every time. Your friend is like many for you to accidentally date other girls who lack the until you realize he hates self-esteem to hold stan women. dards for the way they are treated. You’re not a thera Disclaimer: Kim Maier is pist; you can’t expect to not a real doctor, nor has she repair years of emotion ever been. She’s working on it al damage done by this though. woman’s loser boyfriend. To read more of “Dr. Kim,” go So, you are left with two to askejean.com and click on the choices: Choice # 1 — Sit your ‘Top Campus Sex Columnists.” 1SG Elections highlight poor voter turnout on campus Matt Olson Commentary Editor Last Wednesday, The ackamas Print released the suits of the ASG Elections on e back page of our paper. The results weren’t all that sur ging: Tim Lussier won and will rve another year as student body esident. What was surprising was the pnber of votes with which he on. Lussier won with a grand Jal of 89 votes ... out of 1,792 I-time students. Just do the math. What’s 89 ided by 1,792? It’s less than 5 percent of the full-time students. But don’t forget the 13 thousand part-time students also enrolled here at Clackamas. All told, less than 1 percent of enrolled students bothered to take five minutes out of their day and vote. Does this bother anyone? “It frustrated me because I was worried that I wouldn’t win,” said Lussier. Fortunately for Lussier, those 89 votes were more than two- and-a-half times as many votes as his competitor, Felisha Borg, received. “I think it was a clear message; two-and-a-half times the vote was a clear message,” said Lussier. C o -E ditors - in - C hief : Sam Krause, Clackamas Print Katie Wilson 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 (503) 657-6958 ex. 2309 C opy E ditor : Colleen Watkins N ews E ditor : Megan Koler C ommentary E ditor : Matt Olson F eature E ditor : Laura Cameron S ports E ditor : Mike Guidice A&E E ditor : David Stark P hoto E ditor : Adam J. Manley Die Clackamas Print is a weekly student publication and is • distributed every Wednesday except finals week. “I’m not upset with the results. I think it’s what the student body wants.” At least 1 percent of the student body. Every four years, America elects a president. Arguably the most important vote any US citi zen has is only cast by about 50 percent of the voting-age popula tion. So, what’s there to complain about when so few students vote for an insignificant student gov ernment on some community col lege campus? Well, in the same way that Americans influence the course of their country by electing a presi A d M anager : Elizabeth Hitz S taff W riters : Nicholas Baker, dent to represent their interests domestically and abroad, students here on campus must elect a stu dent government to represent their interests on campus and at the capital in Salem. Where did it go wrong? “I think it wasn’t promoted as well as it could have been,” said Lussier. “Our vice president does the promotion and is the election’s committee chair.” Obviously, fingers may be pointed, or blame may be placed by individuals, but the truth is that the responsibility ultimately falls on the students to take initiative. “I’m not gunna blame it on the students and say they’re apa Garrilynn Harvey, Chris Young P hotographers : Juno Dean, Kayla Berge, Benjamin Caldwell, Brandy-Marie Faulhaber, Jennesa Jesse Dees, Leia Dickerson, Frank Palmer Jordan, Heatherann Price, Dustin D epartment A dviser : Linda Vogt Ragsdale, Jess Sheppard, Andrea Simpson, Liz Travers, Sean Van D epartment S ecretary : Pat Walchren, Emily Walters Thompson P roduction A ssistants : Joseph Elliot, Rachel Gillette, thetic,” explained Lussier. But that’s exactly what hap pened. Without a perspective on the importance of ASG, most stu dents just don’t care. The elections are done, the votes have been counted and the winner has been chosen. Lussier will serve as student body presi dent for another year. Congratulations. Yet, it seems a hollow victory when one examines the severe lack of input by the student body in the election. The majority was not rep resented, nor was there an effort made by that majority to voice their opinions. It’s a shame. G oals : The Clackamas Pint aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the stu dent body, college administration, its faculty or The Print. E-mail comments to chiefed@dackamas. edu.
