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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
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IS sillt!
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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
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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...