Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION 2 Tuesday, April 25,1989 WHO SAYS LOVE PIEO IN THE GOi 2 IT JUST COSTS A LITTLE MORE IM THE 80s Supreme Court decision must allow abortion to remain legal The Supreme Court is hearing argu ments which may lead to a complete or partial reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion in 1973. In recent months, the media has been saturated with both pro-life and pro- choice opinions. Stephanie Stribling tion to support the child, both finan cially and emotionally, and her decision is based on careful consideration of the facts, then abortion should be an alter native. Columnist I am convinced that making abortion illegal will be a giant leap backward to a time when ignorance and piety ruled over rational, logical thought. will simply make it an infinitely more dangerous proposition. My biggest problem with the pro-life position is the presumptuous implica tion that abortion is a black and white is sue. Pro-lifers have transformed abor tion into a single question of right or wrong, when the issue is actually a series of questions that must be answered be fore individuals can pass judgment on abortion. Every person must ask them selves: There is no question that unwanted pregnancy is a mistake. Some pro-lifers believe that abortions circumvent the price a woman must pay for that mis take. However, unless a woman is com pletely without conscience, there are few who would say abortion is not costly, both physically and emotionally. Forcing a woman to give up her child for adoption is not a viable alternative to reduce the number of abortions. If she is not prepared to raise the child herself, she should not be forced to subject that child to the even more uncertain future of adoption or foster care. If pro-lifers are really dedicated to using adoption as an alternative to abortion, they should consider adopting five or six unwanted children themselves. That would really help the cause. Is death sometimes a preferred alter native? At what point does a fetus becomes a human life? Whether that price is paid immedi ately or years later, it will be paid. Un like miscarriage, where a woman is en- couraged to heal herself both emotionally and physically, a woman who has had an abortion is expected to walk away from it unscathed. She has no opportunity to grieve her loss. There are alternatives to reducing the number of abortions. Making them illegal is not the answer. In particular, violence as a means of bringing about reform is not the answer. To take a life in the name of saving one is even more heinous a crime than the one the pro lifers claim to be fighting. Does a woman have the right to de cide the life or death of that fetus? Does a woman have the right to choose death over a poor quality of life for her child? Until these questions are answered to each individual’s satisfaction, that per son is in no position to make an in formed decision about abortion. The answers to these questions lie not in con sensus of the masses, but as a matter of personal belief. Some pro-lifers use the argument that repeat offenders, who use abortion as a form of birth control, are represen tative of abortion as an easy alternative. But this argument doesn’t merit dis cussion. There will always be opposing extremes, but their numbers are too few to consider. Most women who abort a child will not make the same painful mistake again. The pro-lifers are too busy battling the symptom, not the disease. They for get we are all members of a society that condones premarital sex as easily as it points a finger at the results. Regardless of the legality of abortion, it is inevitable. Although inevitability is not reason enough to legalize any ac tion, it should play an important role in the decision. As long as women continue to have unwanted pregnancies, they will continue to find a way to terminate those pregnancies. Making abortion ille gal will not eliminate the procedure, it Women do pay a price, regardless of their decision to abort. Forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to term only in flicts the price of her mistake on her in nocent, unborn child, which I find obscene. Changing our attitudes about prema rital sex is one alternative to reducing the number of abortions. Through edu cation, we are changing our attitudes about drugs. We can certainly do the same with premarital sex. Particularly since the fatal dimension of AIDS has been added to the equation. The quality of life for the child should be the foremost consideration when a woman is deciding the future of that child. If she decides she is not in a posi- The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Becky Weisenfels, Editor Leslie Guy, Managing Editor Dean Sueltenfuss, Opinion Page Editor Anthony Wilson, City Editor Scot Walker, Wire Editor Drew Leder, News Editor Doug Walker, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Mary-Lynne Rice, Entertainment Edi tor Editorial Policy / he Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac ulty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station TX 77843-4 Ul- BLOOM COUNTY Don’t mess with the postal service It’s doubtful that Joseph Champlin is a wealthy man. He’s only 20 years old and lives in the working class neighbor hood of Canaryville on the South Side of Chicago. My guess is that he doesn’t have a lot of money to throw around. AUSTIN (AF Monday that wo ets to entertain contests, and wi certain telephon Another bill s proval would pi state employees. Yet, he made a very foolish and po tentially costly investment last week, if police reports can be believed. Bailey returned to the postal station, told his supervisor what happened, they drove back to pick up the bags. Champlin may have invested as much as two years of his freedom and the price of hiring a lawyer. All for the du bious satisfaction of being a racial bigot. “When we got there, the police were already there and they asked metogi in the squad car to try and find the guy, I’ve been unable to reach Champlin to discuss his alleged investment. But a version of the story has been told by Larry Bailey, 20, a Chicago mail carrier. A police department spokesman said the cops were already there because someone who lived nearby saw the inci dent and was decent enough to i And they helped identify Champlin. Bailey doesn’t have a regular mail route yet. He fills in wherever he’s needed. Police tracked Champlin down through his license plate number, although he tried to escape by running and ducking into a buillding, they grabbed him. And last week he was needed in the Canaryville neighborhood, which has a long history of racial hostility. Bailey picks up the story: “It was the end of the day and I was getting ready to get off and I was pick ing up my bags. Then he was booked on one charge of aggravated assault. That was for menacing Bailey with the stick andchas ing him. If found guilty on that charge, he could be sentenced to a year in prison. “All of a sudden, this blue car pulls up and stops. I didn’t pay no mind, but then this guy jumped out with a big stick in his hand. Champlin also was charged witheth nic intimidation. That was for combin ing the threat with racial epithets. If found guilty on that charge, he could draw another year in prison. “He said: T told you niggers about coming around here. I’m going to show you.’ “He came at me and I took off and ran down to the end of the block. T hen I stopped and watched him. Another carload of guys pulled up and he talked to them. Then they took off in different directions.” Unless he pleads poverty and gets a free public defender, he is going to have to hire a lawyef. Criminal lawyers don't work cheap and most of them wiselyast for the money up front. And if Cham plin does plead poverty, the judge might ask him how he can afford to own a car if he can’t afford a lawyer. he Battalioi ST Tuesday, A Sen teselli But his problems might not end there. Bailey is no fool, and he’s familiar with the attitudes of some of the people who live in that neighborhood. Leaving the mailbags where they were, he prudently took off on foot for the postal station, which is only a few blocks away. It is against federal laws to mess around with a mail carrier. The postal inspectors also are looking into this case. And if they decide there is sufficient evidence, they will turn it over to the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecution in federal court. He made it safely, but the trip was de pressing. As Bailey explained: “As I was going up the street, I saw some kids playing basketball. They started chasing me and throwing sticks and things at me, and calling me names. Just little kids.” The average law-abiding person gets stomach butterflies when pulled over for running a yellow light. And goingto traffic court can bring on a case of the sweats. Just little kids. It would be nice if their parents had them watch the video of the musical “South Pacific.” There’s a song about how kids have to be taught to hate. On the other hand, their par ents have apparently taught them al ready. So imagine how young Mr. Champlin must be feeling, faced with the prospect of standing trial on a truly serious rap. We need to quit sending mixed sig nals to women. It is the heighth of hy pocrisy to condone premarital sex and simultaneously condemn unwanted pre gnancy. The two will be inextricably linked forever. As Bailey said: “I was surprised, espe cially this being election time. You’d think everything would be cool and calm, but it’s not.” Of course, Champlin is presumed in nocent until found guilty. But if Bailey's story is true, and a judge or a jury be lieves him and those who witnessed the incident, Champlin really should add up the costs and ask himself if being a jerk is worth it. Stephanie Stribling is a senior jour nalism major and a columnist for The Battalion. (By that, Bailey meant that the inci dent occurred only a few blocks from the home of Richard M. Daley has been trying to shed the racist stigma of his neighborhood.) And if he is found guilty, I sincerely hope a judge throws the book at him, Really, guys like him give being white a bad name. Copyright 1989, Tribune Media Services, Inc. by Berke Breathed Sen. J.E. “Bu would make it a ticket to a publ event for more event sponsor. An amendme cover sports ev question wheth some of our at Jackson, said. The measure 0 days in jail the House on vo Sen. Chet EH Bush a declare disastei AUSTIN (j Bush has apy Clements’ reqi East Texas cou areas as a r caused by Mar ernor said Mor The countie kee, Gregg, and Rusk — flooding betwe “I am deligl Bush acted q quest,” Clen statement. “People wh< this disaster ca sistance in just he said. Clements ca lief on April quested fedei dents, busines and local gove An Th< Carat 4.01 1.80 1.61 1.51 1.44 1.43 1.20 1.18 1.17 1.11 1.09 1.06 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.01 1.00 .95 .93 .91 .91 .89 .85 .84 .83 .81 .76 .73 .72 .72 .71 .70 .70 .69 .65 .64 .64 .58 .55
