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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2004)
'Ull ii Opini The Battalion Opening the casket Page 11 • Monday, March 22, 2004 on abortion Students should heed setups posted at Rudder Fountain and Academic Plaza I n the summer of 1955, a young man named Emmett Till took a trip to Mississippi to visit relatives. His mother warned him of hostility toward blacks in the South, but he failed to heed her warning. In August of that year, Emmett was beaten and shot to death by two white men, and then his body was thrown in a river. His crime was speaking to a white woman in the grocery store. After the body was recovered, Emmett's mother held an open-casket funeral so everyone see the heinous crime done to her son. His face and body id been beaten beyond recognition, and he had a bullet hole ough his head. This crime and the case that followed are msidered by many historians to be a major turning point in icstruggle for civil rights. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, there are setups Rudder Fountain and Academic Plaza by an organiza- oncalled Justice for All. These setups show graphic, [ten difficult to look at pictures of aborted fetuses, common question asked by passers-by is, “Why jthey have to show this?” Il1 " Atthe University of Colorado-Boulder, a black ident asked this question. One of the volunteers ildhim the story of Emmett Till. The next day returned, asking for help to defend the pro-life ovement. When asked about his sudden change of tart, he responded that Justice for All is simply ipening the casket” on abortion. So, what should be seen once the casket is open? it of thirst, one should be able to decide from the pictures if it fetus is indeed an innocent human person. If it is, lenthe question of how, if ever, it is justifiable to end an Kent human’s life must be answered. One must either lude that there are times when it is OK to end an inno- st human life or that abortion is murder and must be jpped. Second, if abortion is nothing more than a simple medical miure, then the aftermath should not be a problem to look If the panels contained pictures of pulled wisdom teeth or of 5RI odyji IS sillt! attemp Fhreen women and men with stitches, although it might seem odd and disgusting, one would not object to this as fiercely as he might the Justice for All demonstration. What is the difference? Having stitches and having teeth pulled are just mere medical proce dures, but, as the Justice for All panels show, abortion involves the dismemberment of a human being. Making a trip to the local abortion clinic as being comparable to a trip to the local dentist masks the true reality of abortion; Justice for All’s goal is to unmask this illusion and expose this heinous crime. When the movie “Schindler’s List” was released, its producers donated copies of it to high schools around the country. Faculty members acknowl edged its importance in helping students understand the realities of the Holocaust. Abortion is today’s Holocaust. To truly understand the horror of it all, it must be seen. Bob Dylan, in “The Death of Emmett Till,” wrote: “If you can't speak out against this kind of thing, a crime that's so unjust, your eyes are filled with dead men’s dirt, your mind is filled with dust. Your arms and legs they must be in shackles and chains, and your blood it must refuse to flow, for you let this human race fall down so God-awful low!” These words regarding Till’s death ring even clearer when spoken about abortion. The human race has truly reached a new low when it is considered just and a right to kill your own children. It is true that the Justice for All display might cause unimaginable difficulties and emotional stress both for women in crisis pregnancies and those who have had abortions in the past. There are people on hand who are ready to counsel women in need. However, this does not affect the need for the display. In the case of women in crisis pregnancies, they have the right and a need to see what abortion really is. And finally, for post-abortive women (and men), acceptance is the first step to healing. Now is the time to see the truth. Now is the time to act. No longer will the caskets of aborted children be closed. Cody Sain is a junior philosophy major. Graphic by Ruben DeLuna pt ['yiiatl MAIL CALL nal! peyes are on college pletes’ behavior ima former student of Texas A&M cur- Byliving in Boulder, Colo. While surfing Web today, 1 saw a headline which il “Texas A&M players shouted racial € on MSNBC. While 1 don’t know the 3l story and have absolutely no interest bashing any student of A&M, I did want write and voice my concerns over the leasing number of police incidents with iM athletes. lurrently, the University of Colorado M team is undergoing extreme rutiny from the media for its involve- entinan alleged sex scandal. Because these allegations, the coach has been speeded, potential recruits signed with ber teams, student athletes (in all orts) are embarrassed, parents are ibarrassed, donations have decreased dthe reputation of the school has been maged. We do not know and may verknow if the allegations are true; all this damage has been done because iletes placed themselves in compromis- ! situations. file media is watching all college Jits right now just waiting for their next 1 story. Student athletes, please nember that you represent the best of M both on and off the field. Please n't allow yourselves to become the xtbig joke. Alicia Alpenfels Class of 1991 het Edwards the right noice for District 17 n, ' L I or the past 10 years, Congressman Chet wards has represented a Central Texas itrict which was predominantly 'Tj publican. For example, Bell County has > ly one elected Democrat in County vernment, yet, Chet consistently received percent of the vote in the County, om Delay's avowed purpose for redis- Aord 1 ; Aard' tricting in Texas was to increase the num ber of Republicans in Congress and "reflect the voting trends in the state." Well, the only way they were able to "get" Chet Edwards was to redistrict him out of our District, not withstanding the voting trends in Central Texas. I can guarantee you that those Republicans and Independents that have voted for him would love to see his return, however we wish him well in his new District. In Chet Edwards you will find an hon est man, moderate in his views, extremely effective in representing his district in Washington, and the recipient of many recognitions from very conser vative groups who tell like it is and dis dain the use of childish labels. He is a true friend of education, and will always be a friend of the Army. For those of you who can see beyond the partisan blind ers many zealots use, you should see the synergy between Texas A&M, its engineering programs, the Medical School, and the military. As mayor of the City of Killeen, he was always available, and without his support, we would have never succeeded in convert ing Fort Hood's Robert Gray Army Airfield into a Joint Use Airport, which will benefit the entire Central Texas Area. All Veterans here appreciate his recent and extraordi nary efforts to obtain land and financing for the 1st Texas Veterans Cemetery just south of Killeen. I am proud to say that during my three terms as mayor, whenever I called Chet in Washington, I always got through to him, even speaking with him on the floor of the House while sessions were being con ducted. Veterans in Central Texas appreciate and support Chet. District 17 has an excellent opportunity to elect an experi enced, dedicated, well qualified, influential legislator in the next elections. Too bad I can't use my RV Lot 100 Address at TAMU to Register and vote for Chet, however I will be there for him with a "Vote Chet Edwards" sign this fall. Raul G. Villaronga Class of 1959 COL, US Army (Retired) Society cannot ignore the consequences of cloning Negative uses of technology must be banned W hat started as a trickle has now become a flood. The boundaries between medi cine and science fiction are quickly disappearing and the “attack of the clones” is literally beginning. America, as the world leader in scientific thought, now has no choice but to address the potential consequences of human cloning, something that in the past had only existed in the realm of Star Wars movies. While concerns on both sides of this hotly-contested issue come from justifiable points of view, the issue itself is not simply black or white. Society must examine all the possible uses of cloning technology, both positive and negative, before writing it off entirely or embracing it completely. Technological advances are in fact “neither good nor bad,” according to technology historian Melvin Kranzberg’s article entitled “Laws of Technology.” Instead, he asserts, the nature of the technology is deter mined by those who use it and the ways in which they implement it. Nowhere in modern technology does this law apply more than in the realm of cloning. Many in the government, including the presi dent, see the future of cloning technology delving into the domin ion of science fiction and are push ing for total bans on the use of human embryonic tissue in research. Others point to the possi ble disease-altering information that could potentially come from stem-cell research and demand that we move forward with our efforts. While an innovation such as cloning may seem novel and bene ficial toward mankind’s health, society must examine the far- reaching effects on culture and life as a whole before offering their blessing, or as Kranzberg puts it, “exam ine the immediate and long-range implications of tech nological advancement.” The touted medical benefits of cloning do seem to boast significant improvement over fighting disease and preventative techniques in practice today. Using stem cells, the cells in embryos that have the potential to become any type of cell, scientists may be able to re grow specialized cells or even entire organs, according to www.humancloning.org. The Web site claims that with the ability to re-grow cells we could potentially generate new livers, kidneys or hearts to replace those damaged by disease. Furthermore, stem cells could be used to make new spinal cord cells for those with para lyzing injuries or even new skin for victims of severe burns. The site also claims, without supporting evi dence, that “conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart failure, degenerative joint disease and other problems may be made curable if human cloning and its technology are not banned.” While these claims are made with the usual arrogant certainty that accompanies scientific work, there are also many drawbacks, both moral and scientific, to cloning technology. First, and most importantly, the technology described above could fall into the wrong hands. The advancements in human cloning that have already developed have led to talk of the “designer baby” in which a checklist of qualities could easily turn into the ideal offspring. Furthermore, a company named Clonaid, the self-proclaimed world leader in human cloning, is striving to develop cloning for the purpose of “scientifically creating eternal life” according to its Web site. Even the uniting of the DNA of homosexual couples into a viable offspring has been discussed. These frightening aims are truly seeking to take humans in the direction of “A Brave New World,” in which genetic engineer ing is the norm and babies are made on conveyor belts. The potential emotional, cultural and economic ramifications of using technology in this manner are unthinkable and must be opposed. Kranzberg asks a serious ques tion in his examination of the evo lution of technology, which is “once a threshold is crossed, can one turn back?” The answer is no, which means that humankind stands at a pivotal fork in the road in the course of human history. The debates on cloning currently raging will set precedents for the level of interference that people have with their environ ment for the foreseeable future. The use of human cloning in medicine may ultimately be decided by the cultural, largely religious, answer to the question ‘should we play God?’ At the same time, however, the international community must pass laws to protect against the potential negative use of the technology. As the jury remains out on the fate of human cloning, there may be one final piece of wisdom to consider. Ninety- year-old Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and Texas A&M professor Norman Borlaug recently noted, “You can search all your life for perfection in biology, and you just won’t find it. You’ve got to take what you’ve got and make the best of it.” josh Langston is a senior biology major. JOSH LANGSTON While an innovation such as cloning may seem novel and beneficial toward 1 mankind's health, society must examine the far reaching effects on culture and life as a whole before offering their blessing...