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t ■r 4,1992 appreci- I in their to know could be g giant of on party lease.., >rm your- Wednesday, November 4,1992 World & Nation The Battalion Page 7 ork, said national 'e able to of party- nton will fficulty," on was a unk he is said the together Abortion rule illegal, court says THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?ch, Perot an people said that ?ad. work to- he said, nave spo- o make it 3 team up behind us >f us." WASHINGTON - The Bush idministration may not enforce a ule restricting federally funded amily planning clinics from coun- eling patients about abortion, a ederal appeals court ruled Tues- lay. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here said he revised gag rule, permitting mly doctors at the clinics to dis- uss abortion with patients, was idopted illegally. The Department of Health and iuman Services adopted the nodified rule without giving the mblic adequate opportunity to hallenge it, the appeals court U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals casts out Bush administration's revised gag rule said. The agency changed the 1988 rule at the direction of President Bush to exempt doctors from the gag rule, in what administration critics said was a fraudulent com promise motivated by politics. Left unclear after Tuesday's rul ing is whether the administration could enforce the broader gag rule, barring even doctors from discussing abortion. The administration had no im mediate comment on the decision. "We're examining our options," said Susan Zagame, a lawyer with the Department of Health and Hu man Services. She declined further comment. The gag rule would affect some 4,000 clinics that serve about 3.7 million women a year. Jubilant abortion rights advo cates said Tuesday's ruling means that if Bush is defeated for re-elec tion by Democrat Bill Clinton, the so-called gag rule is dead, since a lame-duck administration would not have time to re-implement it. Clinton has said that if elected, he would throw out the gag rule. Opponents of abortion rights said the ruling was a politically timed decision by liberal judges appointed by former President Jimmy Carter. "If Clinton wins, we'll see a lot more of this — liberal judges en gaging in social engineering," said Douglas Johnson, head of the Na tional Right to Life Committee. The appeals court said that to some, the revised rule might sound like Orwellian doubles peak, since the Health and Hu man Services Department changed the rule substantially and claimed only to be interpreting it. "We do not accuse (the revi sions) of Orwellian overtones," said Judge Patricia Wald in her opinion for the court panel that in cluded Judges Harry T. Edwards and Abner Mikva. Panel urges female combat restrictions THE ASSOCIATED PRESS orfie 1 w0 1 I'm /V WASHINGTON — Women in the military ihould be allowed to serve on some warships mt continue to be barred both from ground ighting and combat missions in Air Force and Javy aircraft, a presidential commission rec- immended Tuesday. The 15-member commission on the assign- nent of women in the armed forces strongly iupported retaining the ban on land combat mt defied expectations in its 8-7 vote to keep he current policy on air missions. The panel voted 8-6 with one abstention to epeal existing laws and modify service poli ces on women serving on combatant vessels, fhey recommended retaining the current ban in women aboard submarines and amphibious essels but allowed them for the first time to me on fighting ships that seek out the enemy, ike destroyers, frigates and aircraft carriers. That vote came after an appeal from the commission's chairman, retired Gen. Robert T. Herres that the panel not to totally accept the status quo. "A great number of people will not believe we credibly considered these issues" without some concession to changing times, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the President Bush-appointed group. The votes on air and sea combat came in the afternoon, following the return of four mem bers who walked out of the morning session to stress their view that there should be no ex panded role for women in the military. A fifth man with similar views boycotted the morning meeting. The recommendation said the Air Force and Navy should retain and codify their prohibi tion of women on air combat missions in view of the "potential consequences of assigning women to combat positions." The proposal was made by Air Force Re serve Sgt. Sarah F. White, who deplored that there "are women willing to kill or be killed to promote equal opportunity." Other opponents spoke of dangers to the na tional security if women pilots are captured and the possible negative effects of women on the cohesion of fighter pilot units. The panel voted 8-2 to recommend exclusion of women from direct land combat units, those that engage in fighting. However, it also con sidered sea and air combat roles for women and said service secretaries should recommend to Congress what units and positions should fall under a combat exclusion. That vote came after the panel voted 3-7 to reject a proposal that the Army review three fields — air defense artillery, combat army en gineers and field artillery — for possible ex emption from a combat ban. The three votes in favor were cast by women. All seven men vot ing opposed it. Analysts predict unstable future economic activity THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - The gov ernment's barometer of future economic activity fell in Sep tember for the third time in four months, signaling continued weakness during the first year- of the new presidential term. Most analysts believe the economy will escape a new re cession. But they agreed the 0.3 percent decline in the Com merce Department's Index of Leading Economic Indicators on Tuesday suggested it will re main a major problem. "It's not a harbinger that (the economy) is falling into another recession," said Lynn Reaser, an economist with First Interstate Bancorp in Los Angeles. "But it is . . . certainly consistent with the belief the economy is not performing up to par and why it was a major factor in the elec tion." Economist Sung Won Sohn of the Norwest Corp. in Min neapolis said that while he also doesn't expect a new recession, "certainly the probability of that has increased because the lead ing indicators declined for two consecutive months." The index is designed to fore cast economic activity six to nine months ahead. In the past, three consecutive declines were considered a fairly good, but not infallible, sign of an ap proaching economic downturn. But the index failed to predict the last recession, since it did not start turning down until August 1990 — the month after the recession began. The government has estimat ed the economy grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate in the July- September quarter, but many analysts said the number over stated the economy's strength. "My guess is that we'll be well under 2 percent in the fourth quarter," predicted Lawrence H. Meyer, head of a St. Louis economic forecasting firm. He said a 2.5 percent growth rate is the best that the nation can expect during the first six months of next year. That would be less than half the growth of most recoveries following other recessions since World War II. Such slow growth would not be able to generate new jobs. Six of the 11 forward-looking indicators were negative, led by a drop in the price of various raw materials, which suggested a lack of demand. The various changes left the index at a seasonally adjusted 148.2, up 2.2 percent from a year ago. Rio Grande beach sale upsets groups THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSTON — Conservation oups say they are disappointed gain at news of the impending ale to a private developer of the . 6-year-old Play a del Rio project Ul near the mouth of the Rio Grande. Officials with First Heights ank of Houston confirmed last eek they have accepted an offer for the controversial tract on Boca Ihica beach on the north side of the Rio Grande, an abortive pro- || ject that sparked a prolonged showdown in the 1980s between environmentalists and developers. In 1986, Playa del Rio officials outlined a 30-year development plan for the 12,000-acre multimil- lion-dollar project to build homes and apartments for 150,000 resi dents, shopping centers, golf courses, an airstrip and a conven tion center, along with nine mari nas and 48 miles of dredged canals. Nothing was ever built. First Heights officials would not reveal any details or the identity of their prospective buyer, saying the deal is not complete. The property has been listed recently with a sale price of $7 million. Opposition to the development in the past has been mounted by Gov. Ann Richards, Land Com missioner Garry Mauro, the may or of Brownsville and a host of en vironmental groups. Trade Center fight leaves 4 casualties THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS — Two people were fatally shot and two oth ers wounded Tuesday in a do mestic dispute between two brothers at the World Trade Center, according to Dallas po lice. Police received a call about the shooting at 6:25 p.m. The names of the dead and wound ed have not been released. The two wounded were tak en to an area hospital. Dallas Sgt. Jim Almy said more information was not available. Yugoslav premier survives Panic defeats second no-confidence vote Tuesday THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — Premier Milan Panic barely survived his second no-confidence vote in two months Tuesday, foiling an attempt by his arch-rival Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to oust him. The victory could strengthen Panic, a moderate who has pushed for concessions to end warfare in former Yugoslavia, ahead of federal and Serbian gen eral elections Dec. 20. Panic, a Serbian-born California millionaire, won the vote in the upper house of the federal Parliament 18-17, a day after being roundly defeated in the low er house. It would have taken 21 votes to remove him from office. "Democracy is working," Panic told The Associat ed Press. He said if he had lost, the democratization of Yugoslavia would have been jeopardized. Deputy Premier Oskar Kovac said Panic's govern ment will continue its moderate policies toward peace. The lower Citizens Chamber, which voted 93-24 against Panic, is dominated by Milosevic's Socialists — the former Communists — and allied nationalists. The upper Chamber of Republics, however, is di vided equally between deputies from Serbia and Montenegro, the only republics remaining in Yu goslavia. Montenegro supports Panic, who was ap pointed premier in July. Panic's survival is certain to aggravate a power struggle between Milosevic, Panic and Panic's ally, Yugoslav President Dobrica Cosic. The no-confidence vote also could widen differ ences between Montenegro and Serbia. Some Serbian deputies had warned that Montenegro would bear the consequences if Panic stayed in power, while Montenegrin deputies said they might move to se cede if he lost. Panic has gained broad support from Yugoslavs tired of warfare in former Yugoslav republics, where rebel Serbs have received support from Belgrade. The international community sees Milosevic as stoking the aggression by ethnic Serbs in neighbor ing Bosnia-Herzegovina and earlier in Croatia. :e t with ires from r axes not To build success you need the right tools... MBAlLAW COMMITTEE ^ Nail down your future at the MSC MBA/Law BUSINESS DAY Wednesday, November 4 11:00-3:00 MSC Main Hall Meet representatives from Univ. of Texas, Pepperdine, Wharton School of Business, Chicago, Northwestern, &: more Ulcer Studies Do you have stomach pain? Indigestion? Heartburn? Perhaps we could help! 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