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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2007)
BY KELLIE DEVORE TO THE EDITOR Global Gagging Bush carries on an absurd and destructive policy T hirty-four years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide, Planned Parenthood is gathering supporters to celebrate and reflect on what this important rul- ing means to women around the country. But we also want this anniversary to remind everyone that not all women around the world are afforded the reproductive care they deserve. Unfortunately, January 2007 also marks the sixth an- niversary of President Bush’s reinstatement of the global gag rule, which dictates that organizations receiving U.S. family planning assistance cannot counsel, provide or refer for abortion services. They are also prohibited from advocating for abortion legalization in their own countries, even if they do so with their own private funding! This is a restriction not only on reproductive health care, but also on free speech — a restriction that would not be allowed were it implemented here at home, but often goes ignored abroad. In Oregon, voters sent a powerful message last November when they de- feated Measure 43, re-elected pro-choice Gov. Kulongoski and returned the Oregon House to pro-choice hands. Against this backdrop of domestic tri- umph, we can’t forget about women overseas whose lives continue to be threatened by the global gag rule, a remnant of the Reagan-era assault on international family planning services. Since 2001, foreign reproductive health care organizations have been forced to either accept U.S. funds and agree to stipulations that jeopardize their patients’ health, or reject U.S. assistance and risk eliminating crucial services for lack of funding. Because of the global gag rule, clinics have closed and supplies of contraceptives have become increasingly unavailable, diminishing access to vital services for some of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized people. I had the opportunity to travel to Western Europe in the summer of 2002, a year and a half after the reinstatement of the rule. In Paris I encountered frantic reproductive health care staff and worried providers who were con- cerned about the plight of women in developing countries as a result of the restrictions imposed via the global gag rule. They were upset that they would not adequately be able to pick up supporting services in those less privileged, already underfunded countries where the U.S. support had dropped off. It was embarrassing, to say the least. The global gag rule has always been a dangerous and cruel policy, and there is no evidence to suggest that it reduces the number of abortions worldwide. Instead, its adverse impact on women’s health and families worldwide has been clearly demonstrated. This harmful policy does not rep- resent America at its best, nor does it represent the values that we hold dear. President Bush ought to repeal this regulation immediately. And you ought to urge him to do so as well. Kellie DeVore is the vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. She participated in Advocates for Youth’s 2002 European Study Tour to see first hand Western European countries’ approaches to teen sexual health — which result in better public health outcomes than those of the U.S. Public Hearing Hynix Air Permit Renewal A public hearing will be held Monday, Feb. 12, 2007, for public comment on Hynix Semiconductor America’s draft Air Contaminant Discharge Permit renewal. Hynix has requested an increased emissions limit for hydrogen fluoride. Hearing: 6:00 PM Question/Answer Session 6:15 PM Public Hearing LRAPA: 1010 Main Street, Springfield Comments will be accepted through 5:00 PM, Tues., February 13. For more information call 736-1056, 219; or visit www.lrapa.org/permitting/ Lane Regional Air Protection Agency 6 FEBRUARY 8, 2007 that what you believe? At one time maybe you were; what happened to common sense and the ability to write things that can help or benefit the commu- nity? Respect, morals, you have not shown you have any. Maybe you and this Mr. Savage should rim each other if you like this crap so much that you cannot find anything im- portant to write about. I will go as far as I have to with this — freedom of speech and press never intended for you to abuse it in such a flagrant way. Larry Lippert Eugene KEEP SAVAGE LOVE I think Dan Savage’s column “Savage Love” is a wonderfully frank, healthy discus- sion of human sexuality and I am so grateful that the Weekly carries it. For those who might be concerned that children will read it, I encourage them to eavesdrop on the discus- sion or jokes of any group of pre-adolescents. Children are curious about human sexuality and will learn from whatever sources they can find. It is important to note that Dan Savage’s approach to sexuality issues always includes consensual sex and safe sex. I find his column intriguing and thought provoking and I read it every week. Please keep “Savage Love” in the Weekly. Lydia Van Dreel Eugene UNHEALTHY WORDS I have been a consistent reader of EW (still call it What’s Happening) for most of the paper’s life. I always enjoy the articles and the happenings info about town. However, as of now, I am stopping my reading of EW. I am no prude and believe in free speech but “Savage Love” is the wrong place for such ramblings. While walking into Sundance the other day I overheard three middle Dan school children (Roosevelt Middle school is right across the street) discussing and laughing about some part of “Savage Love.” It is wrong and proba- bly not healthy for them to be exposed to such writings in a free and ubiquitous paper. Thus, as of now, I will no longer read Eugene Weekly. This makes me a bit sad and I will miss the political and timely articles. Please remove “Savage Love” from EW. Richard Catlin Eugene IN-LINE WHINE Lance (Wine, 2/1), do you really believe that what kind of car you drive will stop the onslaught of industrial civilization? That’s right up there with Spruce voting Democratic to save us and the planet! The delusion of such liberals is that they will not see that there is something very fun- damentally wrong and death-dealing at the core of mass society. It is less than honorable to keep collaborating with the engine of the death of the biomass and the human spirit (spiralling isolation, stress, anxiety, depres- sion, etc.). Rather than endlessly condemning ELF types for their precise, no-harm-to-life acts of courage, how about waking up to real- ity and confronting it? Better than “whine and stay in line.” PS — There are many anarchists in- volved in practical alternatives on the land. John Zerzan Eugene MOTOWN HAZARDS An official view of Eugene shows the city as a friendly place for pedestrians and bicy- clists. My anticipated retirement here was met with a rude shock. Eugene is a Motown, in which the cars turn corners with the accel- erator on the floor. As a pedestrian in a pedestrian right of way, I have twice saved myself by leaping into the air to avoid a car seen out of the cor- ner of my eye. The city recognized this prob- lem and a couple of years ago it passed a resolution that cars should come to a full stop when a pedestrian is on the street. This lasted a few months until the traffic re- verted to normal. Another time, I was riding my bicycle slowly across a pedes- trian right-of-way Savage when a car turned the corner and knocked me down. My body hit the pavement and rolled to avoid injury. Bicyclists cause their own problems. Road-bikers use the pedestrian pathways along the river to develop their racing mus- cles. Pedestrians cringe and hope for the best. The faster cyclists never call out a warning. Within a year of coming to Eugene, my fancy road-bike was stolen. There is a story that every active biker in Eugene has lost at least one bicycle to this sophisticated theft ring. So little is made of it, there seems to be tacit acceptance of this Robin Hood-like ac- tivity, which flourishes under the averted eyes of the police. Retiring to Eugene has been one of my best decisions. But I have learned to hunker down and keep a watch over my shoulder. J. Colville Helmer Eugene OUTSIDE OF NORMAL Does the Eugene Weekly endorse torture?
