4a
Opinion
Wednesday, January 24, 2001
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Editorial board: President shouldn't interfere with abortion
Bush already showing he will threaten Roe
President George W. Bush should be familiar with Roe v. Wade. The class action lawsuit that led to the historic Supreme Court decision began in Texas.
In the early 1970s, the lawsuit challenged a Texas law that denied a woman the right to an abortion unless her life was in danger. The Court spoke clearly on the issue Jan. 22, 1973, and declared the law unconstitutional. As he settles into the office of president of the United States, Bush should remember this: It is unconstitutional to restrict a woman's right to an abortion.
President Bush does not seem to care what the Court ruled. As governor of Texas, he said, "I will do everything in my power to restrict abortion." It is only reasonable to assume that he will bring this attitude to the White House
we can already see that: Monday, he issued an executive order denying federal aid to overseas groups that provide abortion counseling and help women obtain abortions.
Although Bush says he will not use abortion as a main issue for potential Supreme Court appointees, he has said that he will appoint justices who are strict constructionists. Translated, this means that he will look for judges who do not support the underlying but unwritten constitutional right to privacy that is the foundation of Roe v. Wade.
The fight for abortion and reproductive rights for women did not end or begin with the decision. Women have long battled for their right to decide when they have children. Any move Bush makes against the ruling could be especially devastating now, as states are already scaling back abortion rights through parental consent and late-term abortion bans.
Bush's stance on abortion and family planning is contradictory. While campaigning, he said that he supported banning abortion in all cases except rape, incest or when the life of the pregnant woman was in danger. At the same time, he said that he wanted to set the goal that all children would be welcomed into life and protected by law. Children are not welcomed or protected if they are born to a mother who cannot care for them or who is having a child against her will. They are not welcomed or protected if they are born into a world that cannot already take care of the children it has.
Protection of the right to an abortion is neces sary as long as extreme poverty, over population and irresponsible mistakes exist. When President Bush fixes all of these problems and knows for sure every child is welcomed and protected, he may then move on to the issue of abortion.
Kate Williams for the editorial board
Editorial board: Roe v. Wade turned America for the worse
Legal abortions foster social irresponsibility
bortion is the greatest crime against females, even more of a violation of a woman's body and spirit
Than rape. What good comes from legalized abortions? Not in once all the discussions and debates, protests and confrontations between pro-choice and pro-life advocates has anyone given a satisfactory answer.
Since 1973, cases of breast cancer in women who have had
cancers have increased 50 percent, according to a Howard
Study.
In the 28 years since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in *Roe v. Wade*, society has turned for the worse. Now that the United States has a new administration, it's time for the case to be re-evaluated.
University study. These same women
also experience agonizing cramping and profuse bleeding, as well as greater risks of miscarriages in later pregnancies. Some are never able to conceive properly again.
Mentally, men and women simply cannot handle stress nearly as well as before *Roe v. Wole*. Consider the 1,112 percent increase in reported cases of child abuse since 1973 (a figure from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Relationships crumble, self-esteem plumms and disease spreads. And children suffer.
How fascinating that our society would hold in such high regard a practice that not only slaughters the defenseless, but also finds victims in those that pay to have it performed. It abandons them to a lifetime of nightmares, physical pain and emptiness. Shame on our nation for allowing this to be a social norm.
It's a joke for our country not only to allow the murder of children, but also to justify it as an issue of personal
We should rally around our sisters with open arms, offering both emotional and financial support for their journey down the challenging yet beautiful road of
motherhood. But instead of helping, society brands these women as selfish, telling them that they won't be accepted unless their inconvenience is eliminated. Not being able to find a parking space, losing a wallet—those are inconveniences. Children are not.
How dare any pro-choice activist — male or female — tell a woman that she is less of a productive member of society for being with child. Just who decided a successful woman should model herself after this unattached, irresponsible male model that is so often deemed ideal? The strength of a woman lies in her femininity and the uniqueness of her creation, which includes her ability to bear children — not in her right to choose.
Women must accept the responsibility we have for one another (including our unborn children) and open our eyes to this murderous alternative to birth. It only perpetuates a societal trend of irresponsibility.
To be truly liberated, we must reject all ideas that abortion gives women more freedom. It only truly liberates men from commitment and forces women to embrace male standards. Women must indeed celebrate their womanhood; not by murdering the lives within them, but in celebrating the purest form of their femininity.
Although the right to choose does offer sexual liberty, it also brings heartbreak for years to come. There is more to consider than just immediacy. What a different nation we would live in if only our population would step up to the challenge presented in choosing life. It would redeem the valor and morality our nation was founded upon.
Katie Laird, dissenting
Perspective
Debacle of framing news stressed by inauguration
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that when it comes to politics, I lean to the left. I was pro-Clinton and anti-independent counsel, and while I hate to admit it, by process of elimination I was also pro-Gore.
But in the interest of being a responsible readers' representative, I also have to say that I questioned the front page of Monday's Kansan.
The lead story was headlined, "Bush takes office amid protests," and the accompanying picture showed dozens of protectors
with signs claiming election fraud and Bush's illegitimacy as president of the United States.
My first impression was that the Kansan missed the point and that by highlighting an interesting — but relatively insignificant — aspect of Saturday's inauguration, it allgumed itself with those people whose political preferences are well, pretty darn obvious.
As journalists, that's not our job. The election controversy was news in November. This
week, the news was that Americans have a new president, and Monday's story should have been about his inauguration.
Letta Schultes
readers'
representative
eaderspetr/aanan.com
But every issue has a flip side.
Mindie Miller, managing editor at the Kansan,
suggested that by the time Monday's story hit the
newstands, the inauguration was old news and the
Kansan needed a new angle.
Kansan editor Lori O'Otoole agreed and pointed out that Saturday's protests were the largest since Nixon's inauguration during the peak of the Vietnam War, a pretty newsworthy fact. O'Otoole
said rehashing the inauguration would have been pointless.
"A lot of the readers who would read the story about the inauguration watched it more than two days ago," she said.
But pointless is a relative term. The inauguration was televised across the nation Saturday afternoon for the benefit of anyone interested. Yet Sunday morning, newspapers ran "day-old" inauguration stories.
"Bush's vow: 'America at its best,' was The Kansas City Star's headline.
"Bush takes solemn oath," proclaimed The Wichita Eagle.
The Topeka Capital Journal ran a photo of Bush hugging his parents, and The New York Times showed Bush with his right hand solemnly held in the air.
The stories in those newspapers fit their headlines and photos — they focused on what Bush said rather than those who didn't like what he said.
Miller said that ideally, the Kansan would have run one story on Bush's speech and another on the protests, which some University of Kansas students attended. But like any newspaper, the Kansan faces limited space, and an editorial decision had to be made. This time, the decision was to go for new spin.
I agree with Miller that in a perfect world, two stories would have run. I disagree with the Kansan's final decision: If a newspaper is going to run only one story on an issue, it needs to be the right one.
This time, the right one was not about protestors, and by running that story we opened ourselves up to legitimate accusations of liberal leanings.
But then again, I have the benefit of hindsight.
Schultes is a Rothe, Iowa, sophomore in journalism and religious studies.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slainderon statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
I know it doesn't cost $86 to make a math book. KU, you can keep your dirty, filthy, blood money. I hope you choke on it.
When Robert Chamberlain can give birth to babies, then he can talk to me about *Roe v. Wade*.
Why is there an ad for a topless typing system in the UDK? And what purpose does it serve?
White boys really isn't the preferred term. European-American, please.
Target — the best place in town to buy a coconut.
What the hell does being White
have to do with wearing T-shirts when it's cold? Some classrooms are so hot that I'd like to be sitting there in my bra; forget the T-shirt. That moronic statement just shows you don't have to be White to be prejudiced.
have to do with wearing T-shirts when it's cold? Some classrooms are so hot that I'd like to be sitting there in my bra; forget the T-shirt. That moronic statement just shows you don't have to be White to be prejudiced.
How long into George Bush's tenure until people start asking: What the hell were we thinking?
and typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
I think my friend's roommate has Tourette's Syndrome.
If Marcus McLaughlin was a little bit nervous about being in a small town, then as a White person, I would be scared as hell to be in Harlem.
图
Don't you think the kid that says "zoom zoom" on the Mazda commercial looks kind of like Kirk Hinrich?
and typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
We should levy a tax on bugs,
and if they didn't pay the tax,
that's when we step on them.
Why is there such a crappy half-time show this year at the Superbowl? N'Sync and Aerosmith? And a Backstreet Boys national anthem?
With hits like those, Nick Collison should be playing for the hockey team.
--and typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
I wonder if Free for All has caller ID so they can realize who's making all these dumb phone calls.
Editor's note: It does.
I wonder how many people from Hutch are going home for spring break.
Jan, 23 is National Pie Day. Can I have a piece of your pie?
In regards to Robert Chamberlain's Jan.22 perspective article: What right do you have as a man to tell a woman what to do with her own body? The Roe vs. Wade decision has provided women the right to a legal and safe abortion. Would you rather that women went back to coathanger-style abortions from back-alley doctors.
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I don't care how bad President Bush is. One of his daughters is still pretty hot.
Let's give it up for KU's other nationally ranked team: Go get 'em, men's track.
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