Page 2 • Wednesday, July 14, 1999
News
Court overturns prayer ruling
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A
federal appeals court Tuesday
threw out a judge’s ruling that re
stricted the right of students to
pray and lead prayers in Alabama
schools.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Atlanta ruled 3-0 that a
federal judge wrongly restricted
student instigated prayer at
DeKalb County schools.
But the court did not throw out
the judge’s restrictions against
school officials leading prayers or
other religious activities.
“The suppression of student-
initiated religious speech is neither
necessary to, nor does it achieve,
constitutional neutrality towards
religion,” the appeals court said.
The case was brought by
Michael Chandler, a former vice
principal at Valley Head High
School in DeKalb County.
He claimed the schools uncon
stitutionally promoted Christiani
ty with pre-game prayers at ath
letic events, teacher-led
devotionals and distribution of
Bibles at school by Gideons Inter
national.
U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent
agreed, and in 1997 issued an in
junction against the schools.
The American Civil Liberties
Union joined in the suit, and said
it may appeal the latest ruling. But
the ACLU said the ruling vindicat
ed much of their position.
“School teachers still can’t grab
students and ask them to pray in
a class, which is what they were
doing in DeKalb County,” Pamela
Sumners, an attorney for the
ACLU, said.
Alabama Attorney General Bill
Pryor said he was pleased with the
decision.
“This is a victory for all the
school children in the public
schools of our state, that they do
not surrender their constitutional
rights when they attend a public
school in Alabama,” he said.
“They do not surrender their reli
gious faith and their religious be
liefs.”
Senate rejects plan to gi
doctors final say on cover
te I
Albright promises more
U.S. peace efforts in Africa
NEW YORK (AP) — Sensitive to
criticism that the United States does
more to end conflicts in Europe than
in Africa, U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright pledged a greater
U.S. effort to support peace efforts in
Sudan and other war-torn countries.
Alluding to the NATO-led cam
paign to end repression in Kosovo,
Albright said the United States has
done more to promote peace in Eu
rope because it has allies to share the
risks and costs of responding to
crises.
“In Africa,” she said, “such re
sources are scarce. But that is no ex
cuse for disengaging or giving up. ”
She promised to use the lessons of
Kosovo to respond more assertively
to Africa’s crises.
Albright spoke Tbesday to more
than 2,000 delegates attending the
annual convention of the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People.
After the speech, NAACP Presi
dent Kweisi Mfume, a critic of U.S.
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policy in Africa, said he was glad Al
bright addressed concerns about the
relative neglect of Africa and felt she
was sensitive to the views of black
Americans. But he said he still had
concerns.
“In Africa,
such resources
[as allies] are
scarce. But that
is no excuse for
disengaging or
giving up.”
- MADELEINE
ALBRIGHT
“The situation between Rwan
da and Kosovo is just the latest ex
ample of the problem mind-set,”
Mfume said. “The problem is not
her. It is the permanent foreign
policy mind-set that we see situa
tions in terms of the East and the
West. African nations are treated
differently. ”
Other analysts rejected such
analyses as too simplistic, recalling
that when the Bush administration
faced simultaneous humanitarian
crises in Somalia and Bosnia in 1992,
it sent troops to Somalia but not to
Bosnia.
In her speech, Albright acknowl
edged the United States, along with
the rest of the world, did not do
enough in 1994 to stop the slaughter
in Rwanda, where more than
500,000 people, mostly TUtsis, were
killed.
She also suggested the United
States has not responded with indif
ference to Africa’s crises, noting it has
played a major role in trying to ener
gize a regional peace process to settle
the 16-year-old civil war in Sudan.
She added that President Clinton
will soon appoint a special envoy to
try to help reduce human rights
abuses in that country, including
slavery and the use of child soldiers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Casting the opening votes
on patient rights, the Senate defeated a Democratic ef
fort Tbesday to make insurance companies pay for any
treatments that doctors say are medically necessary.
In a string of votes. Republicans also opted to restrict
many of their provisions to the 48 million Americans
whose health plans fall exclusively under federal regu
lation. They also rejected Democratic amendments on
women’s health and emergency room care.
“All in all, I think we had a pretty productive day,”
Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla, said.
Despite the defeats. Democrats believe they scored
points in a political debate that has become as much
about next year’s elections as policy. Neither side has
been willing to compromise, and President Clinton has
signaled he will veto the GOP bill.
At every turn, Democrats are trying to expand HMO
protections, while Republicans prefer a more modest
approach.
Nothing illustrated that better than who would be
covered.
On a 53-47 vote, the Senate opted to apply many of
the new rights only to the 48 million Americans in
health plans that are now exempt from state regula
tions.
This includes patient protections involving emer
gency room care, access to obstetricians-gynecologists
and the right to keep a doctor during a course of treat
ment.
Democrats want to cover another 113 million oth
ers who live in states that may or may not have ap
proved the protections on their own.
“This is about denying millions of Americans the
right to protection,” Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle, D-S.D., said.
But Republicans argued that the federal govern-
House votes to revi z
state parks progra
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voteti|
day to revive a moribund program that has
states purchase parkland, handing a symbo
tory to pro-environment lawmakers.
By 213-202, lawmakers voted to spends
lion next year from the land and water con i|g m
bon fund foi grants to all 50 states. UnderthtHg im
gram, states receiving the federal grantsBiur t
provide an equal amount of money. Be sh
The language was included in a $14.1» thi
measure financing the Interior Departmental! standi
tural programs for the upcoming fiscal year weigh
Die lands provision was I'perted iSiMSconi
Democrats and opposed 157 i b> KepubfaBan v
—If \
fii
rnent should not interfere with health plans! Sc otla
already subject to state regulation. ■ouid
Democrats’ effort to make HMDs payloittewc
treatments they do not now cover — one oftti;B For
contentious issues in tin' debate over HMOs-Buval
C»n a 52-48 vote. Bl
I he Democratic bill would have madehensi aggi
surance companies pay for care consistent witfcB Sin
erally accepted principles of medical practice.
But Republicans argued that sometimestht|
common practices are not the best. Theyref
the Democratic medical necessity provisior]
their own system allowing patients to appeal
i5 denied.
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