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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1962)
MLUi-OHU MAIL, Imouwt.. MUtdnU, CJ.GON School Prayer Case Spotlights Church -State Separation Issue By FREDERICK H. TREESH New York CuPij William J. Butler, the soft-spoken, Har vard educated lawyer who successfully argued the su preme court case against the New York State School pray er, gets his Irish dander up when anyone suggests the de cision was anti-religious. "To say the decision is sac rilegious or anti-religious is baloney. It just isn't true," Butler said. "What the court said was that there is not to be any state involvement in religion." Butler, a Roman Catholic and a successful corporate at torney, said he volunteered to take the case because he be lieves it is unconstitutional for a state to use its facilities to carry out a religious func tion. Ruled 6 lo 1 The Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, ruled that the New York regents prayer was a violation of the first amend ment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits "an estab lishment of religion" by gov ernment. The prayer had been written by the New York state board of regents and sug gested for use by local school districts. Butler argued the case for five parents from New Hyde Park, a Long Island suburb of New York City. The parents, two Jews, a Unitarian, a mem ber of the Society for Ethical Culture and an agnostic, op posed adoption of the prayer by the local school board. "It was the first time in U.S. history that a state had composed an official prayer," Butler said. The basis of the parents' ob jection, Butler said, was that they believe that once a state can determine what religious observance is orthodox, then it can start preferring one be lief over another. Beginning of End "In our society, which Is pluralistic in nature, that is the beginning of the end of re ligious freedom," Butler said. The court's opinion, while restricted to New York's state composed prayer, inevitably must be interpreted in a wide range of other cases involving the relationship of church and state, Butler said. One of these will be the fu ture of Bible reading and the recitation of the Lord's Pray er in schools. A Pennsylvania case in which those points are at issue is pending before the Supreme Court. And lo what extent will the court's strict interpretation on separation affect the future of federal aid to sectarian schools? Butler said the whole ques tion of religion In public life will be at issue in the coming interpretations of the Su preme Court decision on the i constitutional New York prayer case, known idown." as Engcl vs. Vitale. Butler said the five parents May B Classic I who instigated the prayer case The case may become a classic in constitutional law. "It will be the case on sep aration," Butler said. "No matter what happened after this, it has to happen within the framework of this case or the whole structure of our law breaks hell or go to Russia. The writ ers don't seem to care," But ler said. He dismisses the letter writ- have received many indignant I ers and callers as "cranks'" letters and telephone calls' and said at no time have the since the Supreme Court re-! parents considered asking foi turned its decision, and at I police protection, various times their homes , Originally. Butler said, have been picketed. .about 50 or 55 parents in New "Most of the letters say the ! Hyde Park actively opposed parents should either go to j the mandatory prayer. But be fore the esse went to court 3!2 years hum, t h c r e were only five petitioners. The others, he said, did not want to be come parlies to the action be cause of possible social or economic reprisals. The ca.se had been argued and lost in three lower courts before the Supreme Court is sued its order banning the New York prayer. Butler said. Two Youths Drown i As Canoe Capsizes Ephrata, Wash. fUPli Two i Indian youths drowned Wed- nesday night when their 19 foot cedar dugout canoe cap ; sized under the spillway at i Priest Rapids dam on the Co ' lumbia river. The victims were John Buck. 16, Beverly, Wash., son of Frank Buck, chief of the Wanapum Tribe, and Mel vin Luci, 24, White Swan, Wash. Mental Health Chairman Elected Salem "IUPD - The new state advisory committee on men tal health Wednesday elected Dr. Herman Dickel, Portland psychiatrist, chairman. The committee, which voted to meet quarterly, was wel comed by Secretary of "State Howell Appling Jr., state treasurer Howard C. Helton, and Dr. Joseph Treleaven, di rector of the state Board of Control! mental health (ft. vision. Treleaven said Origon needs comprehensive, long term plan to combat problem! of mental health. The board, to advise Tre leaven's division, Is composed of professional and lay mem bers. It has nine member representing public health, psychiatry, e d u c a tion and other fields. KUany Americans Said Involved in Testing of Drugs SHOP TONIGHT, TIHJRSE5AY ANH FRIDAY UNTIL 9 P.M. ""TX it's our mm ga-oB YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS IT! HURRY IN TODAY! SEE OUR CIRCUS TENT LOADED WITH FANTASTIC BUYS 3 Big Days AUGUST 2-3-4 AMAZING VALUES AT LOW, LOW PRICES! I4e!tintMc 3-Cycle isitoiiMiile Editor's note: The case of the drug thalidomide, which was used experiment ally by doctors before it was found to cause babuiot to be deformed, has focused a spotlight on testing pro cedures fcr new drugs. The following dispatch ex plores these procedures and the controversy that sur rounds them. By JERRY LANDAUER Washington - IUPD - Thou sands of American are involv ed in the testing of new drugs, but many of them never know it. They are the human beings upon which all new drugs must be tested before Ihcy can be sold. Before the drugs are sent to selected doctors to give lo their patients as experiments, the drugs are tested on ani mals. But, as a Food and Drug administration official point ed out, "animals 'don't answer all the questions." There is always the possi bility that the answer to the human tests mny be tragedy. Officials are praying .that no tragedies befall tl'Ve thousands Lauds Senate Vote. Portland, Ore. t!l'li - Bon-novt-llc Power Administrator Charles F. Luce Wednesday hailed the vote by the Senate on the Hanford, Wash., nu clear reactor. The Senate approved an Amendment to an Atomic Kn crjiy commission bill which would allow the Washington Public Power Supply System to build electric generating farililics at the reactor. "Louie and economic com mon sense dictate that the Hanford project shoirld go for ward." Luce said. Luce called on the private utilities of the Pacific North west, who have opposed the project, 'lo come forward now and publicity support it." Navy Plane Feared Down in Pacific Manila - tt'PII - A U.S. Navy patrol plane carrying 13 per sons was missing and pre sumed down iH sea in the Pa cific 150 miles northwest of here, the Navy sflid today. The plane failed to return on schedule to Samjley Naval Ba.se here after a night train ing mission. The Navy said no radio messages hud been re ceived from the P-5M Martin aircraft. Twelve planes and the car rier Valley Forge were par ticipating in a search for the missing plane, a spokesman said. Civil Service Repeal Petition Needs Signers Salcjii-irPli-Marlon Coun'y Clerk Henry Mattson says sponsors of a petition for re peal of the county's civil serv ice system need nearly 3.000 signatures hy next Tuesday, rather than 2.1(10. Sponsors thought earlier 2.100 would be enough, but Mattson said the minimum Is eight per cent of the highest vote tast for a state Supreme Court justice in November, 1060. of persons who may have, been given the 'drug thalido mide as an experiment. Thalidomide may cause as many as 5,000 babies in Eu rope to be born deformed. Not Sold in U.S. The drug never went on sale in this country, thanks to a suspicious FDA medical officer named Dr. Frances Kelsey. But it was tested on human beings from 1059 un til last December, when its U.S. mnkcr warned doctors not to give it lo women of childbearing age. The thalidomide tragedy has stirred anew the controversy over government's laws regu lating the drug industry. Sen. Eslcs Kefauver (D.Tenn.) and a handful of his constituents, plus some medical authorities and government officials, be lieve Congress must arm the! FDA with more power to deal I with unproven drugs. I As drugs grow more polcnt, the officials argue, Ihey grow I more dangerous. And, they j charge, the present laws are too full of holes to protect (he public. 21 Products Withdrawn i Since the summer of l!)f3. drug manufacturers have been forced lo withdraw from the druggists' shelves 21 of their products which had proven to be dangerous. All had met the necessary KB A regulations. Several of these drugs pass ed by the FDA turned out to cause such possible fitful mi'l adies as blood disease, liver , damage and hepatitis. In order to get a drug on Ihe commercial market, a drug manufacturer first lests it on nnlmwis. Then, if it pusses that test, the company sends it lo a selected list (if doctors who have agreed to give it lo their patients and report hack on the results. . Ther.e is no FDA regula tion that the doctors must in form their patients that the drug they are taking is in the experimental stage. An FDA official said that k some cases, il might be wise lo tell (he patient this. Then, If the company (eels tests show the drug is worth while, It submits a full state ment of its qualities, with (lie results of the experiments, lo (he FDA. There is no stipula tion as to how long Ihe drug may be tested on animals he. fore being used on human be i ings. Can Appeal Decision ; The application frfed with ' (he FDA Is considered auto matically approved unless Ihe federal agency, within K0 days, disapproves it or orders : further lests. The d r u g manufacturer whose new pill is rejected can ! appeal the dec ision in eifnrt. Kefauver s u b m i I t e d a sweeping drug reform bill that would repeal Hie law al lowing the drugs to go on sale in 60 days without spe- cific approval, a law he claims i permitted many rlangerous medicines to gel on drug. gists' shelves because of (lie J pressures on Ihe FDA. "Under existing procedures it is the American people who unknowingly serve as guinea pigs for experiments by drug companies." Kcdiu vor says. 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