4.
Tuesday, October 8, 1996
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Abortion pill may give women more options
Abortion is a divisive issue in American society, and a new pill called Mifepristone may widen the gap between pro-choice advo-
The Issue:
Pro-Mifepristone
The abortion pill will provide women with an alternative to the surgical procedure.
cases and their opponents. However, when responsibly prescribed by a physician, the new drug will provide more options to women seeking an abortion.
Mifepristone, formerly known as RU-486, will be formally introduced in the United States with the Food and Drug Administration's approval, which is expected next year. The FDA based its decision to release Mifepristone, in prescription form, on two studies of French women in which 95.5 percent of the abortions were successful.
Wayne Bardin, a physician with the World Population Council, said that out of 200,000 European women who used Mifepristone, the drug failed in only 21 cases. The abortion pill gives women more control during an abortion. But it is a doctor's responsibility to deal with complications. Only with irresponsible medical practices can Mifepristone be abused.
For abortion rights advocates, Mifepristone is a long-awaited alternative to surgical abortion procedures. These operations cause as many as 200,000 deaths because of complications, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. In addition, most surgical abortions are performed after the first seven weeks of pregnancy, but Mifepristone must be used within this time. Mifepristone is not a panacea that will end the abortion controversy, but it is an alternative to surgical abortion procedures, which may be risky.
"It is not necessarily an option everyone would choose, but it just extends the possibilities for women," said Diann Rufkin, of the Feminist Women's Health Center in Atlanta.
NICK ZALLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Mifepristone pill is approved; still morally, physically wrong
Mifepristone has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a safe method for aborting pregnancies.
The Issue:
Anti-Milepristone
Many people already have
The pill abortion is a physically painful process and is not a better alternative than surgical abortion.
decided that Mifepristone is the wonder drug that abortion rights activists say it is. It is not. Mifepristone blocks progesterone receptor sites and causes the placenta to fall away from the uterine wall, along with the fertilized egg. It mimics a natural abortion, and it is far from a panacea.
"This is not neat and clean," said Henry Buck, gynecologist at Watkins Memorial Health Center. "I'm afraid people think it's easy — that's not the case. This drug has not even been approved for me to prescribe yet. The FDA merely approved the drug from a safety and an efficacy standpoint. It is not available yet, and it won't be for quite a while."
Buck also said that in some cases, Mifepristone failed to cause all of the placenta to leave the body. If tissue is left behind, it must be scraped in a surgical procedure. The retained tissue may cause severe bleeding and pain.
"Whether this is better than current methods, and I'm speaking purely from a medical standpoint, the jury is still out on that one." Buck said.
It is clear that not all doctors are comfortable with this procedure. Still, many women's rights advocates hail the new age of Mifepristone. But this is an abortion. This is just as hard as other more invasive methods. There is not an overwhelming consensus of expert opinion to disprove this point.
Death by a pill is the same as death by a surgical method. This is a drug that has no place in the domain of things we call safe. Safe means we expect little pain to be involved. Safe usually means that no life is lost.
TOM MOORE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
AMANDA TRAUGHBER
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Jeff Victor/ KANSAN
Today's heroes tough to find in world of image, immorality
Story of the week: An average American guy — let's call him Jim — graduates from high school, enrolls in college, gets a job and moves into an apartment.
Thus established, he proceeds to slack off 24 hours a day, forgetting all about his responsibilities.
His grades dive, his landlord evicts him and his boss fires him. Does Jim see the error of his ways, turn over a new leaf and try to make up for his irresponsibility? Not in the '90s.
In today's world of easy escape from consequences, Jim can blame all his problems on his teachers, his parents or society in general.
Jim is, of course, a fictional character, but his story is becoming more common in America. The political correctness crowd and the self-esteem junkies have somehow convinced us that if anything bad happens to you, it is someone else's fault.
And we ask ourselves why young people have no motivation. The reason is simple: Our heroes are losers. They are professional athletes with nothing better to do than spit on officials and spray-paint their hair just to show the rest of us how unworthy we are of their respect.
STAFF COLUMNIST
They are professional actors and actresses who drag noble causes — and a nation's dignity into the cesspools of hatred, indecency and dishonesty.
In George Roche's latest book, A World Without Heroes, two kinds of
heroes are described.
The first is a hero in everyday life: someone who consistently does the right thing. This is not to say that Roche's heroes are flawless creatures; they are, after all, human. But a true hero continually stands up for what is right. Nowadays, we call these people old-fashioned or unrealistic.
The second kind of hero Roche defines is a hero under pressure. This hero may or may not show strong principles from day to day, but when encountering intense circumstances, he or she makes the right choice.
The trouble is, true heroes are hard to come by these days. Principles rarely equal popularity. In
fact, when a person shows a degree of moral fortitude they are labeled extremist, malicious or hateful. It is far easier to sway your values with the winds of society than to stand firm. This is especially true under the harsh eye of an image-oriented culture.
But with heroism, like so many other precious commodities, you get what you pay for.
There is a choice we must make: image or heroism. We pretend to crave heroism. We rant at our politicians to show some character.
We complain when University administration doesn't care. We rail against the immoral tripe coming out of the television set. But guess where our money goes? Movie tickets to metathetically disgusting films. Books, magazines and CDs that espouse the most blatantly antiheroic ideas of this age.
A world without heroes is a frightening concept. A society with no men and women known and admired for their upstanding moral character is a nightmare.
Garbage in, garbage out.
Andy Rohrback is an Andover sophomore in Journalism.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Coverage of event frustrates student
I want to respond to the article and subsequent letters about the Def Comedy Jam presented two weeks ago.
I was surprised at the negative tone of the article, given the success of the event. I was equally surprised to see how my quote, taken out of context, contributed to that tone.
It seemed the reporter felt the evening to be controversial, the audience ill-behaved and the comedians insulting. I don't agree.
I thought the show was very well-organized, funny and altogether a great offering to KU students.
I enjoyed myself, which I believe was the whole point of the event.
I hope that such events receive more accurate and fair coverage by the Kansan in the future.
Kellie Newcomer Lawrence graduate student
Kellie Newcomer
How to submit letters and guest columns
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The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted via e-mail to opinion@kansan.com or to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Hall.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions.
For more information, call John Collar or Nicole Kennedy, editorial page editors, at 864-4810.
FATE
who prescribe to it as fascists.
Few would dispute the value of clothes in modern society. After all, they protect us from the rain, the cold, the sun and the sight of certain undesirable individuals in the buff.
Some would argue that clothes serve an even more important function: providing a means of self-expression through individuality and style. This belief forms the basis of fashion, and I like to refer to those who prescribe to
Ever-changing fashion world leaves the slow hesitant behind
STAFF COLUMNIST
My jeans are regulation fit with regulation zippers, I own no T-shirts bearing the words Stussy, Mossimo, or any other slogan, and the only Doc Marten I know is my professor. My wardrobe is plain and boring. However, it always will be plain and boring, and at least I can count on that not to change.
It's not that I have anything against clothes. In cloth, I often wear them. What irks me is the practice of wearing clothes, hair, nails and various metallic objects with the intent of making some bold, brash statement.
I never will be a fashion best, and I am too proud to sink to the worst level. Instead, I have chosen to exist in a fashion vacuum. Because I am neither at the top nor bottom of the spectrum, I am not cool now and probably never will be.
Now what could anyone possibly
have against fashion? Fashion, after all, is the epitome of everything American. Fashion is all about freedom of expression, nonconformity and $50 polo shirts lovingly stitched in Burma for 40 cents of fabric and a Big Mac's equivalency in wages. You'd have to be some kind of communist not to love that.
But I don't love it. I hate it because when it comes to fashion, I am lost and always have been lost.
It is as if I were born in a fashion leap year — for every four years the rest of the world advances, my fashion sense moves ahead one.
The strange thing about fashion is that it rewards its best and its worst. The best keep up, adjusting their wardrobe as styles change, in a perpetual state of coolness. The worst are at times totally out of it, but then trends move their way, and they too become cool. For example, I recently saw an interview with Oasis' Liam Gallagher in which he wore a light blue and red striped workout top, with a zipper down the front — an outfit my own father has donned on the tennis courts since the early '70s.
It was evident from the beginning. In my 1982 kindergarten class picture, 15 kids line the wall decked out in dresses, collared shirts and long pants. In the corner stands a fashion doofus in purple nylon shorts, knee high striped socks, and an Incredible Hulk T-shirt.
On a couple of occasions I even pursued the role of trend setter. My Hawaiian print shirts never caught on, and I never got the nerve to wear my custom-ripped jeans.
For the most part, I was a fashion failure. I never perfected the sweater vest/turtleneck combo, my jean jacket was the wrong color, I chose B jackons instead of Air Jordans.
The list of fashion trends that have passed me by since is endless. Let's start with hair. I never had the rat tail, the buzz, the spike or the bowl. With clothes and accessories, at times, I've made an effort to be suave. As a grade-school upperclassman, I rolled my jeans with the best of them and owned half the Ocean Pacific clothing line. I also caught onto the Swatch watch craze.
Jeff Mudrick is a Topека sophomore in psychology.
By Shawn Trimble