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University Daily Kansan, November 4. 1982
Justice details history of Kansas court system
By VERONICA JONGENELEN Staff Reporter
The unification of the Kansas court system in 1976 helped eliminate disorganization that was common in the state's courts, Kansas Supreme Court Justice David Prager said last night.
Prager spoke to about 20 people in Green Hall as part of a lecture series sponsored by the University of Kansas and the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association. His speech, titled "The Kansas Court System — Where We Are and Where We Came From," detailed the development of Kansas courts from the time of the state's birth in 1861 up to now.
He outlined four characteristics common in early Kansas courts.
HE SAID that some areas of the state were little judicial kingdoms where judges operated according to their own interpretations of the law, and that laws often differed from county to county.
Another characteristic was what he called "hometowning." This happened when a judge showed bliss over a case that court's jurisdiction. Praiser said
Judges who worked in the early Kansas courts also lacked judicial education, which often led to judicial inefficiency, he said.
Many judges also were far-ers who were too busy to properly manage their caseloads, he said.
THE CONCEPT of a court system at that time, he said, was one main district court, with many smaller, specialized courts beneath it. These often were divided into areas such as probate, justice of the peace, juvenile, and magistrate courts, he said.
The result was that many cases went to trial twice, once in the lower court and again in the district court, he said.
Inappropriate judicial districting caused further inefficiency, Prager said. Several districts in northwest Kansas were drawn according to the county codes and were not redrawn into more compact areas until 1982, he said.
In the more populated areas of the state, large caseloads also were a problem, Prager said. Now, one Supreme Court justice oversees dockets in each of six separate areas, helping to ease caseloads by assigning other judges to hear cases.
STILL, MANY people complained that it took too long to dispense cases, he said. In 1800, the Kansas Supreme Court adopted a general policy on principles and guidelines for speedy dispensation, he said.
The result has been that from June 30, 1981, to June 30, 1982, the average civil case was disposed of in 124 days. Only 3.9 percent of all civil cases in Kansas are more than two years old, and only 6.1 percent of all criminal cases are more than one year old, he said.
"Of course, that's an assembly line," he said.
IN THE FUTURE, Prager said, more cases should be mediated instead of brought to court.
In such mediation, arbitrators who are knowledgeable on the subject matter in dispute can hear arguments and help the two parties reach an agreement, instead of taking the case before a tury.
On campus
TODAY
GERIAM CLUB will have a table reserved for lunch at 14:45 a.m. in the gymnasium.
KU SWORD AND SHIELD will meet
at p.m. in the Oream Room of the
u.P.
KU MOUNTANEERING ASSOCIATION will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the internationalist Room of the Union.
MARANATHA MINISTRIES will
MARANATIA MINISTRIES will
meet 2 p.m. in the Pine Room of
the United.
PRE-PHYSICAL THERAPY CLUB will meet at 7 p.m. in Watkins Hospital Cafeteria.
WOMEN'S SELF-EXAM WORK-
SHOP will be at 7 p.m. in GSP-Corbin
Cross-Bar Library.
KU CREW will have an invitational meeting at 4:30 p.m. in 202 Robinson Gymnasium.
ECKANKAR DISCUSSION, "Fitness, a Wholistic and Spiritual Approach," will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Governor's Room of the Union.
Boyds Coins-Antiques
Class Books
Buy-Self-Trade
731 GoldSilver-Coin
New Hampshire Antiques-Watches
Lawrence, Kansas 6044 913-842-8773
TOMORROW
CATHOLIC CENTER WORKSHIP will be at 12:30 p.m. in Danfort Chapel.
ASTHONDYM CLUB will meet at 8 a.m. in 500 Lindley Hall if the sky is clear.
CATHOLIC CENTER WORSHIP will
be held 10:00 a.m. in Defense Church.
BIOLOGY CLUB will meet at 4 p.m. in the Sunflower Room of the Union.
THE CASTLE
TEA ROOM
1307 Mass phone: 843-1151
MARANATHA MN:STRIRES will meet at 7 p.m. in the Pine Room of the Museum.
THURSDAY
DRINKATHON
$1.00 at the Door
25c DRAWS
It Could Only Happen at
THE HAWK
1340 Ohio
Penny Draws 7-10 tonight!
Women say economy is key factor Money problems increase abortion rate
By KIESA ASCUE Staff Reporter
Student Appreciation Night,$1 cover
This year, twice as many women as last year's cited financial reasons as the most important factor in their decision to get married. In 2016, the center for women reported recently
Fifty-three percent of the 200 women surveyed said financial reasons affected their choices more than any other factor this year, as compared to 28 percent last year, according to reports by United Press International.
In certain emergency situations, KU students can get short-term loans for abortions on the recommendation of a licensed physician or the office of student financial aid.
The study was done for CHOICES center in conjunction with Adelphi University and Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York.
Economists have estimated that today raising a child from birth to age 18 can cost up to $250,000.
"BECAUSE OF THE REALITY of the economy, many women are sacrificing their desire for children," said Merle Hoffman, social psychologist and director of CHOICES. "The Reagan administration's economic policies must be balanced with the need to abortions in this country, now more than 1.5 million a year."
The cost of an abortion ranges from $185 to $740, depending on how far along the pregnancy is, as said Adele Hughey, special projects coordinator for Comprehensive Health Associates, an abortion clinic in Overland Park.
"It WOULD have to be in the realm of educationally related expenses."
Rogers said, "It would not be an ordinary request."
Fischer said any woman in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy could have an abortion in less than 20 minutes.
Fischer assists Dale Clinton, a physician in Lawrence who performs abortions. Fischer said a woman should see a doctor within two weeks after missing her menstrual period to determine whether she is pregnant.
Most clinics demand payment at the time of the service, and few will accept insurance forms in lieu of money, said D.J. Fischer, a clinical assistant.
In Kansas, abortions are legal until the 24th week of pregnancy. The longer a woman waits to have an abortion, the greater health risks may be, but they are still less than those incurred by childbirth, Hughey said.
"We had a lady in her last week — a smart lady — a college student who thought she was only 11 weeks pregnant. It was 15 weeks," Fischer said. "She had a period after she'd gotten pregnant.
"UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS not uncommon to have one or even two periods after getting pregnant. I would say the most important moment that the miss one period."
In a vacuum aspiration abortion, the physician administers a local anaesthetic and dilates the cervical opening to eight millimeters, about the size of a pencil's width, Fischer said. An instrument shaped like a drinking
Women usually have abortions under a local anaesthetic. They can be in and out of the physician's office within an hour if they decide to have an abortion by the vacuum aspiration method in the first 12 weeks.
straw and closed at one end is placed in the cervix, under vacuum pressure.
Lisa, an 18-year-old KU sophomore,
had an abortion last year and she never
would have been able to walk.
"No permanent tissue is removed, and there's little chance of hemorrhaging or internal damage," Fischer said. "The whole procedure is as serious as having a wisdom tooth removed, without the aftereffects."
THE PHYSICIAN gently rotates the instrument, removing the embryo.
Most college students choose abortion because they cannot afford to have a baby and stay in school, said Lorna Zimmer, member of the Human Sexuality Network, a group affiliated with 10 Headquarters, 1602 Massachusetts St.
AFTER THE Surgical procedure, the patient may experience mild cramps to menstrual cramps as the cervix turns its normal shape. Fischer said.
"Social agencies give the same services to students that they would provide to anyone. They can get food stamps and medical cards." she said.
Other options are adoption, raising the baby alone, or keeping the baby with help from its father or other family members.
"THE FIRST choice a woman makes is whether to have an abortion." Zimmer said. "The second is what to do during the pregnancy."
The only adoption services in Lawrence is through Social Rehabilitation Services.
The Human Sexuality Network can refer women to a variety of social programs and adoption agencies to defray the cost of having a child.
"I still think it was the best thing I could have done," Lisa said. "But if it happened again, I don't think I would have another one, mostly because it's a strange thing to put your body through. I wouldn't want to do it twice."
Lisa said she chose to have an abortion because she did not know of her doctor.
Lisa said the emotional strain of deciding to have an abortion was much more painful than the physical process.
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, estimated that less than 1 percent of abortions involved physical complications that could be detrimental to the health of the woman, Hughey said.
ANNA FENDER, the adoption social worker for SRS, said both parents had to relinquish their parental rights; the child would be adopted, regardless of marital status.
IF A WOMAN waits past the 24th week of pregnancy, she can have a dilation and evacuation abortion. The process is more expensive because it involves two or three days of treatment, Hughev said.
"Mothers change their minds so much that it's not legal to accept consent to adopt prior to the birth of the child," she said.
"I didn't want to take time out of my schedule for a pregnancy," she said.
However, Zimmer said, financial arrangements can be made in which the adoptive parents pay pre-natal insurance and maternals vary among agencies, she said.
Once parental rights are severed, the biological parents cannot change their birth date.