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.