Mixed panel supports
liberalized abortion laws
by H.J. Cummins
A panel ranging from a
Catholic priest to a problem
pregnancy counselor spoke on
liberalized abortion laws as
part of a week-long drive by
proponents of legalized
abortion.
Father John Gilsdorf,
Lincoln, said to allow abortion
is to "throw out the rights of
the unborn."
He said "a liberalized
abortion law or no law at all is
just as much a sectarian, moral
stand taken by society as is the
present law."
And he said abortions are
inherently wrong since they
deny the fetus its
Constitutional rights of "life,
liberty and the pursuit of
happiness."
A University professor of
bio-chemistry said he, too,
feels "from the point; of
conception the fetus is a new
individual in the human
species."
Mike Daley added he was
concerned that "if we can
justify an early -termination of
life," he feared other reasons
would be found to terminate
the lives of an elderly man, a
21 -year-old diabetic, etc.
Bruce Hamilton complained
the present Nebraska law 1)
discriminates against the poor
in that only the wealthy can
afford to travel to where
abortions are legal, 2) is
unconstitutional because it
states abortions are legal to
"preserve the life of a woman"
which is too vague a definition
of legality, and 3) is an
invasion of a woman's rights to
privacy.
Hamilton, director of
Lincoln's Legal Aid Program,
also complained the law makes
no provision for rape, incest or
danger to the mental health of
a woman.
"Society has largely ignored
the anguish and fear of a
woman with an unwanted
pregnancy," said Jeanne
Bredthauer, a member of the
Clergy Consultation Service.
She said women are
"humiliated" and cowed
into having unsafe abortion
methods in their sincere
"concern for the quality of the
life possible for the unborn
child" as they seek to
terminate a problem
pregnancy.
State Senator Wally Barnett
of Lincoln said despite the
political reality that liberalized
abortion is unlikely in
Nebraska, he sees birth
determination as "the right of
every woman."
He said the representation
in the Legislature and other
high-level positions shows
"men are making the rules for
what women can do with their
bodies."
Dr. Joseph Rogers, a
gynocologist, said abortion is
"one of the safest procedures
that can be medically
performed."
In New York, since the
legalization of abortion, he
said, the maternal and infancy
mortality rates have been
considerably reduced.
The ease of obtaining
abortions, he added, has
allowed women to seek help
sooner, which has reduced the
number of complications in
administered abortions.
;
f? :
Panelists. . .Mike Daley, Bruce Hamilton and Father John Gilsdorf discuss current
abortion laws Tuesday.
nnn
dUDLJ
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1971 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA VOL.95, NO. 42
Draft dodgers find haven in Winnipeg
The following story, the
first of three, was written as an
assignment in the depth
reporting class at the UNL
School of Journalism, The
author is a senior from North
Platte.
By Mary Huffman
Winnipeg, Manitoba-Kirk
Johnson's car, its gas tank
empty, sputtered to a halt on
the American side near the
U.S.-Canadian border. It was 3
a.m., May 20, 1970, and
Johnson, a 22-year-old
Nebraskan scheduled for
induction into the armed
forces that very day in Lincoln,
Neb., panicked.
Kis ; goal was Canada-and
safety from the U.S. draft.
THERE HAD been panic
earlier, too, at a motel down
the road where he had
considered checking in-only to
find that it was lined with U.S.
government cars. He said he
couldn't turn his car around
fast enough. His thoughts: "If I
get caught, I'll tell them I was
heading back to Lincoln to be
drafted."
In shirtsleeves, Johnson
stepped from his car, the
near-freezing temperature a
reminder of now close he was '
te-Canada. He flagged a passing
car for a ride and by 8 a.m. was
ready to go again.
Kirk Johnson of Lincoln
was neither the first nor the
last Nebraskan to cross the
border at Pembina, N.D.-into .
permanent exile from America.
There were at least five other
Nebraskans in Winnipeg, his
destination, but Johnson was
alone and knew only slightly of
the others.
AFTER HE bought gas, it
was time to check in at another
motelone without U.S.
government cars to prepare for
his crossing-over interview.
Immigrating to Canada is a
suit-and-tie affair. Jeans,
sandals and a T-shirt won't do.
During the few hours at the
motel, the husky, dark-haired
Nebraskan remembers, he
shattered his shaving mug (he
still has the pieces) and left
behind 16 shirts. A Canadian
friend returned for the shirts.
Turn to page 5.
f FT9
p
Alcoholism afflicts 5,000 in Lincoln
by Duane Leibhart
An estimated 5,000 persons in the Lincoln
community are afflicted with alcoholism,
according to the Director of the Chemical
Dependency Unit at Lincoln General Hospital
Even with the large number of Lincoln
residents affected by the problem, Director
Marty Heist said there has been no rush to use
the facilities at the hospital. Many people are
not aware of the program initiated last June, he
said.
ALSO the director said, people in Lincoln
are "conservative," and tend to hide
alcoholism. Wives tend to aid their husbands in
hiding the problem because they are ashamed
of their husbands' dependence on alcohol, he
said.
Fifty-two per cent of the patients have been
married, 40 per cent have been divorced and 8
per cent are single, according to Heist.
The average age of male patients treated for
alcoholism has been 50, for females, 40.
Heist said women have comprised 44 per
cent of the patients treated so far, but he
suspects the percentage of female alcoholics is
higher than his figures indicate. Women can
hide their alcoholism in the home, whereas men
run into trouble with their employers and have
it forced into the open, the director said.
FOUR per cent of the cases treated thus far
have been UNL students, he said. According to
the director, the treatment takes about 30 days
during which the patient takes part in group
therapy sessions. We have to get alcoholics to
re-evaluate themselves and face their problems
or else they will go back to their old ways, he
said.
Patients have been averaging 75 per cent
recovery, while the national average runs at
under 60 per cent, Heist said. Drying out isn't
enough. "We believe it is a disease and we treat
it that way."
Seventy-five per cent of patients treated are
on both alcohol and other drugs, he said. One
disease can't be treated successfully without
treating the other because they are all so closely
related, Heist said. If the released patient takes
a drink he will be tempted to use drugs and vice
versa, said the director.
BECAUSE about half of his patients are
unemployed, Heist said, funding is a problem.
"We would really hate to turn anyone away
because we didn't have the money," he said.
'The Lancaster County Welfare Office has sent
several patients to us, but sometimes their
funds run short and the hospital has to pick up
the tab."
The director said the hospital has applied to
the federal Health Education and Welfare
Department for funds to help support the
program out won t Know
September. I he hospital is
means of financing the
contributions from local
individuals, Heist said.
Although alcoholism is usually considered a
vice no worse than smoking, resulting addiction
can be as serious as herein addiction, according
to experts in the field.
Board announces
Nebraskan execs
Senior staff for the second semester Daily
Nebraskan staff was chosen Tuesday by the
UNL Publications Board.
Chosen to serve as editor of the staff was
Barry Pilger. Jim Gray was selected as managing
editor and Bart Becker was chosen as news
editor. Business Manager will be Bill Carver.
Interviews for other staff positions will be
held before the end of first semester.
the ans-ver until
now investigating
program through
foundations and