14. 用
Monday, February 26, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 5
Letters to the Editor Partial-birth abortion bans can work if crafted correctly
Leaving aside the merits of John McCool's characterizations of the dilation and extraction procedure as a "monstrous act of medical malpractice" ("Partial-birth abortion ban could happen," Feb. 6), I would like to briefly address his reference to the "judicial creativity" embodied in the Supreme Court's decision in Stenberg v. Carhart, and its impact on the legislation cited in his column.
The opinion of the Court identified two reasons the Nebraska partial-birth abortion statute was contrary to precedent. There was nothing at all new (or "creative," as he would have it) about this decision. First, any state regulation of abortion must not present an undue burden on a woman's right to choose prior to fetal viability. The majority opinion goes to great lengths to establish that the Nebraska statute does not effectively distinguish between "partial birth abortions" (dilation and extraction) and dilation and evacuation, a different second trimester method. According to the Court, the statute could have effectively been used to prevent women from choosing abortion past a certain point in their pregnancy — well ahead of viability. This contrasts with the Kansas partial-birth abortion statute, which explicitly excludes other methods of abortion from its ban (as cited in Justice O'Connor's concurring opinion).
The second problem is that the statute did not provide an exemption for the health of the mother. This is required by the Court when the law regulates abortions after the fetus is viable. Nebraska itself recognizes this, as pointed out by O'Connor, who says the state prohibits all abortions when the child has reached viability, "except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother."
You may note that the state already effectively prohibits abortions if the fetus is viable. So at this point, we are debating abortions at a point before the fetus is viable. I fail to see how the "partial-birth" procedure is any more "ghastly" than the dilation and evacuation technique, which involves fetal dismemberment within the womb.
Nebraska's attorney general made it clear that the latter technique would still be legal in his state. I think both sound remarkably ghastly and draconian. That does not, however, free legislators to pass laws contrary to the Supreme Court's rulings.
That is the problem to McCool's "solution" to "satisfy the amateur physicians on the Court." The legislation he quoted runs afoul of the same failure to protect the health (and not only the life) of a woman. President Clinton vetoed the law, knowing that had he signed it, it would have been overturned by the Court. The problem is not an overactive judiciary or an overzealous ex-president. The difficulty is that the people drafting laws have no real interest in banning the procedure; instead, they simply play to their right-wing constituencies. If McCool would really like to ban the procedure, he should have proposed Kansas' reasonable partial-birth abortion. Instead, he simply seeks to spread discord — the opposite of the "true consensus" he claimed to be defending.
Jeremiah Hackler
Topeka senior
Animal abuse often signals deep psychological problems
This opinion item is in regards to Brett Rizzo and his alleged killing of a cat named "Mama Cat" at Meadowbrook Apartment complex. The purpose of this letter is not to convict Rizzo. The purpose is to raise awareness of crimes that often go unreported or unnoticed that can signal the beginnings of more serious social and behavioral problems. The victims of these crimes are domesticated animals that happen to be on the receiving end of a human's rage. There are clear-cut cases, such as dog fighting and cock fighting, which are very cruel and often very public. Then there are the more mundane crimes against animals, such as neglect and abuse that often go unreported and can end much as the story of the cat murder.
What some people fail to realize is the severity of the actions Rizzo is accused of. Some people may not look beyond the surface and just see a slain animal and move on because it did not involve a human. The question I pose: Which is worse?
For all their redeeming points, humans often exhibit traits that can move other people to aggression and a somewhat justifiable, if not understandable, response. When was the last time a cat challenged anyone to a fight? From the witnesses' accounts the cat in question was nothing but outgoing. The point of this is, what would stop a person who could attack and ultimately kill a defenseless animal from doing it to a human who could far more easily earn his scorn? Nothing.
The killing was not one of neglect or abandonment — which by no means is excusable — but one of brutality. It was a death of prolonged pain and suffering from being pulled apart and bulgeoned. What would stop a person capable of such an act from harming an innocent child or a person walking home in an alley alone? The FBI has found that cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appears in its computer records of serial rapists and murderers, and the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorders.
Animal abuse is not the result of a minor personality flaw but a symptom of a deep disturbance. So what can be done? The maximum punish-
So what can be done? The maximum punishment for this crime is one year in jail. But people canable of these acts also need counseling.
Please recognize the seriousness of this crime and crimes like it. They can take many forms. If you see one happening, tell someone. One thing is for sure: Someone who could do these heinous things to defenseless animals will get worse, not better, and needs help.
Brendon Allen Phoenix junior
Kansan paints unfair picture of life in Jayhawker Towers
As a desk assistant for two years at the Jayhawker Towers/Stouffer Place complex, I'd like to respond to unfavorable and inaccurate stories about our complex in recent issues of the Kansan.
I have lived in the Towers for two years and have not seen a cockroach in my apartment. Bug problems may exist, but such problems often are the result of not cleaning one's apartment.
Sometimes, a neighbor's dirty apartment attracts bugs to a clean apartment. This is unfortunate; it is for these cases that we have an extermination service. We spray an apartment only at the resident's request because the chemicals we use are toxic. When residents request this, we provide them with an instruction sheet describing how they need to prepare their apartment. The extermination usually will occur the next Thursday, if the resident has prepared. If not, the extermination will not be done: this protects residents from chemicals. Because this procedure must be followed for each apartment, it is dangerous and impractical to suggest that periodic spraying of the entire complex be done.
There is no time that the Towers are vacant, which would be the only safe time to do a complexwide extermination. Widespread spraying would present not only health risks but also costs to the Department of Student Housing that would be passed on to residents.
The articles also implied that little has been done to combat this problem, which is untrue. Saying that "only recently has anything been done to alleviate the problem" is not only inaccurate — it reveals the reporter's lack of research.
Extermination services have been available for years at the request of residents. One article even outlined the plight of one resident who tried, supposedly time and again, to get her apartment sprayed. In response to that case, the first few times the exterminator arrived, the apartment had not been prepared. Later, our exterminator experienced a death in his immediate family and took time off. He got behind, but he is now on schedule. None of this was mentioned in the article.
The newspaper has portrayed our staff as uncaring, incompetent and detached from our residents. More than three-quarters of our desk staff live in the Towers, so to allege that we don't care is inaccurate and silly. Many of our staff have worked here several years, and we are well-trained.
Our staff has the formidable challenge of getting to know and care for our about 800 residents, a challenge I think that we meet. Of course, some problems exist. But our staff does its best to help residents, and both our RAs and DAs work hard to foster a safe, healthy and fun environment. The Jayhawker Towers Tenants Association provides an open forum for residents to voice their concerns and make suggestions. At its meetings, problems and solutions are discussed and voted upon.
The reporting by the Kansan was one-sided and untimely. The recent death of Stouffer Place RA Shyra McGee upset all of us. But the day after her death, reporters flooded our office with calls about the cockroach story. Shyra's close friends were forced to deal with reporters calling repeatedly, even after they'd explained that only housing officials could comment. The reporters' insensitivity made an already sad and difficult day worse.
I'd suggest that reporters be neutral and not sensationalize a (relatively) small and easily corrected problem. Moreover, I'd ask them not to vilify a staff who works hard and cares. Please realize that many factors make up a story; make an effort to fully understand and report them.
Kara Smith
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