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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1997)
Battalion Page 9 Thursday • March 6, 1997 iheadp I todi ‘ball Teafi Jniversity s was po; ill begin Lady Aft II host vitational desti esses (AP) ey showei e couldnl Options within a choice Morning-after pill' solidifies line of conception Adoption provides a satisfying solution world already ruled by conve- ience has be- Lady Agg lome even more so vith the Federal Drug idministration’s ap- iroval of emergency :ontraception, better mown as the “morning ifter” pill, last Monday. The pill’s approval is musual because the :ompanies which man- jfacture birth control aever requested its ap- Columnist Heather Pace Sophomore English major uarterbacl ie will pcs- 1FL for out otball. unteerfani ispect fror often mor t 'esist. to do fori “I wantef d yesterda cent sure.' likely top draft, no» ar for the son. ected Fame Jellie Fox, an for the id former manager xted into today by e former 5 Sr. g wait for 1 in 1975. se to male / onlyone ile before omriee of Far* 1 in 155 5 years nis death c finished i — the ie’s histo Baseball ica. proval for use as emergency con traception, fearing the massive repercussions of litigation and the ire of pro-life groups. Although companies fear the reverberations of emergency contraception, the FDA’s an nouncement is no more than an official seal on what has been going on for decades in the United States. As such, the FDA’s approval should be used to help pro-life and pro-choice groups come to asettlement as to what consti tutes life and where the line should be drawn. Recent bombings of abor tion clinics and similar in stances constitute right-wing ideocracyat its best, represent- a movement which has lost any semblance of the order it once maintained. No matter what one’s per sonal views may be, the abor tion question is minor in com parison to other issues which impact the lives of those al ready living. The approval of emergency contraception simply serves to announce publicly what many women do not realize is available. Although emergency contra ception is used regularly in / emergency rooms and repro ductive health clinics, it is rarely utilized in private practices be cause doctors know little about its usage. As more individuals become educated, the issue of abortion e 7 fidence," luld have lining in minutes rom me. cd him if But he’s e view, out in a he said and he’s roof tto 1 like yo“ des’ fim [inst the jiderso 11 i perfot' □ring ^ ying hh ling fo 111 •13 from ng fouf and. )homot £ d. “H e ' s : alway s we wef e or guard by doit 1 , Trace! Tcent. jve tha 1 oughoe 1 a lasting gram. ’ BaroU 6 om hit 11 : piece a* e or le sS s.” hopefully will fade into the distance as women begin to take advantage of emer gency contraception to prevent pregnancy. Because emergency contraception is noth ing more than high doses of birth control, the process is easy and affordable. Women simply take two to four birth con trol pills up to 72 hours after sex, followed by the same dose exactly 12 hours later. A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed an estimated 225,000 American women have used emergency contraception. Likewise, a newly-established hot line received over 25,000 calls within five months of its inception. The hot line was es tablished to inform women about the process and familiar ize them with the providers of emergency contraception. As of yet, no specific prod ucts have been approved and labeled, although emergency contraception has been used extensively for two decades. Although the use of emer gency contraception might raise a furor, it has been quieter than its distant relative RU-486. While emergency contraception simply prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus, RU-486 is an abortion pill which expels an already-growing em bryo from the uterus. The difference between the pills is precisely what should serve as the point of compro mise between pro-lifers and pro-choicers. Because emer gency contraceptive pills are not effective if a woman is al ready pregnant, they easily es tablish what has been so diffi cult to pinpoint — the beginning of life. After conducting extensive research, Dr. James Trussed of Princeton University con vinced the FDA that emer gency contraception possibly could prevent almost 2 million pregnancies each year that would otherwise end in abor tion. If nothing else, this should partly ease the cries of ardent pro-lifers. For those who aren’t responsible enough to plan, emergency HP JL q lire Battalion Classified Ads are filled with some interesting re quests. Job opportunities and medical research studies abound, but few ads are more intriguing than re quests for babies. Recently, couples have been ad vertising their desire to be adoptive parents around Texas A&M Universi ty. These couples offer a legitimate so lution for unwanted pregnancies on campus. By opening up their contraception is an easy way out. While there is no substitute for personal responsibility, emer gency contraception provides an alternative to abortion that should not be overlooked. homes, adoptive parents combat the dual tragedies of abortion and parents who are ill-prepared to raise children. An unwanted pregnancy is one of the most frightening situations a stu dent can encounter. Unfortunately, individuals faced with an unwanted pregnancy they sometimes take desperate measures. In 1994, Stephanie Moore was convicted of throwing her newborn child down a garbage chute in Mosher hall. According to Texas Vi tal Statistics, there were 540 abortions in Brazos County in 1995,283 per formed on women be tween the ages of 20 and 24, an age group corresponding to college-aged women. A satisfying but often over looked option to unwanted preg nancies is adoption. Katy Steinert- Threlkeld, vice president of Public Information for the Gladney Cen ter, a licensed adoption agency lo cated in Fort Worth, said there are more couples wanting to adopt than babies available. “There are about 1.1 million un planned pregnancies in the U.S. per year,” she said. “Only about 2 percent [of mothers] will place their child with adoptive parents.” The saddest legacy of this statistic is there are many couples who des perately desire to adopt a child, but won’t get the chance. The couples who have been adver tising in The Battalion are working through a licensed adoption agency, using an adoption method called “open adoption.” In “open adoption,” birth parents communicate with adopting par ents. Throughout the adoption process, the needs and wishes of the birth parents are paramount. After the adoption, the birth parents can elect to remain in contact with the child and the adoptive family. This open-style adoption benefits the natural parents by allowing them to choose the family with which they place their baby. Because of the em phasis on the birth parents through out the adoption process, adoption agencies offer free counseling during and after the pregnancy. Amy and George are just one cou ple working with the Gladney Center. They have been advertising in The Battalion for about a month. Amy John Lemon engineering graduate student said “open adoption” ben efits both the natural par ents and the child. “It’s better for it (the adoption) to be open be cause they (the children) don’t spend their teenage years worrying who their parents are,” she said. Lucy and John are an other couple in contact with the Gladney Center. Lucy said working with a licensed agency protects the natural parents. “I would say if anyone is consid ering adoption, make sure they work with someone experienced with adoption and get counseling,” she said. _,* In her quest to adopt, Lucy said she believes she and her husband will provide a stable home for children. “One of the things John and I have to offer is a real strong mar riage,” said Lucy. “We’re committed for a lifetime.” Perhaps the greatest fear of any one considering giving up a baby is whether the right decision is being made. Prospective adoptive couples who work with an agency are thor oughly examined before being ac cepted into the adoption program. This process ensures prospective cou ples are suitable parents. Pregnancy should be a positive experience, not a tragedy. Students trapped in an unwanted pregnancy are not limited to the quick fix of abortion or the long haul of raising the child themselves. By advertising to adopt at A&M, a solution is created which benefits a child in need of a home, birth parents who cannot handle the responsibility of child rearing and individuals look ing to adopt. Through “open adop tion,” students who might not be ready to become parents can ensure a secure future for their children. The war against abortion will not be won by bombings or death threats. It will be won by mothers who have the courage to consider the best interests of their children and families who have the gen erosity to accept those children into their homes. Militant feminism stifles free thinking more than sexism I n an age where the dignity of the individual is cherished above all else, many Ameri can women are being misrepre sented by an insulting, mono lithic feminist movement. As radical female activists rally for extreme causes, they neglect to tell new recruits that member ship in the sisterhood comes with a price—ideological conformity. Nothing illustrates this my opic vision like the rabid de fense and promotion of abor tion on demand. No matter what side of the abortion argu ment one favors, there’s tremendous insight to be gained by examining the stances of such prominent feminists groups as the Na tional Organization for Women. There’s also an important question to be answered: Can a person who is pro-life also be a feminist? The answer should be “yes,” but the rul- Columnist Jeremy Valdez Senior engineering major ing class of feminism is trying to make the two terms incompatible. In the cut-and-dried view of modern American feminism, it’s not enough for women to have access to one of the more than 1.5 million surgical abor tions each year, nor would it be right to require teenage girls to consult parents or other re sponsible adults before getting an abortion. Should people support RU- 486? If they’re feminists, the answer is “yes.” But because one controversial abortion drug might not be enough to guarantee “women’s health,” activists also lobbied the FDA to advertise “morning-after” pills, which al most any woman can now use to induce a miscarriage. Still, the party lines of the feminist move ment extend far beyond reproductive issues. For instance, all women should cam paign for the right to lesbian marriages. And no feminist could have any doubts about the credibility of Anita Hill’s accusa tions against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Who would have thought “liberated” women would be compelled to think in such ways about so many controversial issues? The women at the forefront of the femi nist movement seem to be saying, “Don’t let the patriarchy tell you what to believe when we can tell you so much better.” Kelly Smith, a member of the Texas A&M chapter of NOW, disagrees. “There is definitely a place for people who don’t agree with our position on every issue. We’re not all about abortion.” Smith said. But Smith said that being pro-choice is an essential activity of NOW. “You need as many groups as possi ble backing up our right to have an abortion.” Smith said. Abortion freedoms and lesbian rights have more in common than just the sup port of the feminist movement; they also are both causes which have both strong and convincing arguments. They also have special interest groups outside of the femi nist sphere to champion the issues. Agenda-setting feminist groups like NOW would do well to focus their consider able political power on issues everyone can agree on, such as equal pay for equal work, the advancement of women’s medicine and an end to violence against women. Pro-choice organizations such as the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and numerous gay and les bian groups are more than ready to fight their own battles. Certainly no one would be surprised to see the more controversial groups share members with groups like NOW. But the current attitude that says all feminists think alike on issues of life and morality is not just wrong, it’s insulting. In all fairness, feminism isn’t the only good idea being overrun by extremists. It’s just another example of the polarization of American society, so well illustrated by the assault weapon-toting nuts of the National Rifle Association or even the shock artists of Operation Rescue. Though one would never hear them ad mit it, many conventional feminists have a lot in common with these redneck men and clinic-clogging protesters. The foremothers of American feminism were strong, free-thinking women who set < out to change the status quo. Leaders like *! Susan B. Anthony and Margaret Sanger sought to erase injustices and put men and 1 women on equal social footing. But the movements they gave birth to have strayed onto a narrow, restrictive path * many people do not wish to follow. I Bomb -fijcSE frE-- •SO IF YoURE h HKTEFUL, COWARDLY FREAK, YOU HAVE N0TAIN6 TO WORRY ABOUT... Mail Yell leader’s earn respect, not blame In response to Mason Jackson’s column “Out-dated-traditions in need of evaluation.” I am completely appalled Jackson could even incorporate the yell-leader tradition. First of all, the Citadel incident with women and Shannon Faulkner was based on sexual discrimi nation; however, the method and manner in which Faulkner approached the issue com pletely blasted women and their struggle for equality. Sec ondly, Jackson’s column was against “sexism,” yet he wants “bouncy” women in “skirts” to boost the “testosterone levels” of our football players? If you think perky, bouncy cheerlead ers are the solution to A&M’s football woes, maybe we did not attend the same football games this year. As Jackson well pointed out, A&M recruits some of the finest athletes for our football pro gram. If most of the payers con centrated on the games, then they would not need to “look to the sidelines for added assis tance from cheerleaders.” If most of the players and coaches focus on the game at hand, then they would not need cheerlead ers. It may just be that Jackson enjoys the appeal that cheer leaders bring with their “skirts.” As for me, and most of the stu dent body who are proud of our traditions, yell-leaders do a fine job leading the 12th Man to support the Texas Aggie Foot ball team. The purpose of yell- leaders is to keep the crowd rooting for our team. This is one tradition that I hope will not be challenged because the yell- leaders do their job sufficiently and effectively. Christi N. Rohan Class of ’98 Accompanied by 4 signatures The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and include the author’s name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor.