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editoriQ
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Abortion
decision
shocking
mary cannon
CQftftOn Ed,
Once in a while an issue turns up about which it is
impossible to be temperate. It crosses any kind of convenient
line and admits no compromise. It forces itself on thought and
conscience. To me, abortion is just such an unruly issue.
The Supreme Court's abortion decision was a profound
shock. I've spent the last year trying to figure out why it
happened. Briefly, the decision stated that the rights of a fetus
that could not survive alone are subordinate to those of its
mother.
Thus in the first trimester of a pregnancy, an abortion may
be performed, like any minor surgery, any time a woman and
her doctor deem it advisable. In the second trimester, because
of potential medical complications, the state may enact
regulations to protect the mother.
At some undefined time, probably around tha seventh
month of a pregnancy, the court bestows on the f etui enough
human rights that to abort it, unless it endangers the life of the
mother, may be considered a crime, should the states so
choose.
Even after a year, the court has not clarified all the fuzzy
areas in its new policy. Many people have compared the ruling
to the Dred Scott decision, where the court concluded, not
long before the Civil War that a slave, no matter how obvious
his humanity might be, was not entitled to those human rights
which most of us agree are inherent and some of which are
listed in the Constitution.
Needless to say, the Dred Scott point cf view is out of favor
just now. It can be argued that the court now has decreed that
a fetus, like a slave, has no rights of its own and therefore can
quite legally be killed like a parasite, as one proabortion writer
put it
More truthfully, however, the court explicitly avoided
making that kind of decision. Instead, faced with the demand
for a settlement, it tried to compromise. The resulting balance
would have done Henry Gay proud: three months to the
abortionists, three .to their opposition, and three in
no-man's-land. But Clay was in the Senate, and politics goes
badly with the robes cf a Supreme Court justice. Were this any
other kind of issue, a compromise would be acceptable. But
there is no' middle ground on abortion.
There is no magic quality about the 6-month mark in a
pregnancy. A baby entitled to human respect five minutes
after birth, even though it is quite helpless, surely is entitled to
the same consideration weeks or months earlier.
t ; tha i if ittcif . whirh rAmmnftds humxn- status, not its
inherent power. iThat..$bat lifjjej&isis from the.mom?Rt-pf
conception cannot be denied by a people wnicn oonsiuers,
albeit gingerly, the idea of life from a test tube. It begs the
question to complain that a fetus it an imposition on Its
mother. Its conception usually is not entirely outside her
control.
The Supreme Court, after all, only reflects the state of the
nation. It can hardly be condemned for waffling on an issue
which now divides public opinion so neatly. But it seems the
logic which would defend abortion is selfish and shallow. It
denies an intrinsic value in human life and it seems predicated
on the avoidance of reasonable responsibility. I only hope that
when this issue next confronts the court, as it often will, that
careful opinion no longer will tolerate such shoddy stuff.
'Ktrnm'm'w
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Editor's note: following is an excerpt from a letter to
the Soviet Union written by Alexandr Solzhemtsyn. It
was published in the Feb. 26 issue of Time magazine. At
last report, the recently exiled Russian novelist and
Nobel laureate, known for his criticism of the Soviet
government, was staying in Zurich, Switzerland.
Blow the dust off the clock.
Throw of open '
your cherished heavy curtains.
You do not even suspect
that the day has
already dawned outside.
Man has distinguished
himself from the
animal world by thought
and speech.
And these,
naturally, should be free.
If they are put in chains,
we shall return ,
to the state of animals.
S Hi jiKi)
"Capital punishment is nothing but legalized murder!'
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daily nebraskan
An alternative
Dear editor,
I have heard people say Charles Thcne is a good congressman.
But good compared with what? Perhaps good compared with
Roman Hruska and Carl Curtis, but not good to real Midwestern
4!Msrship-Dick Clark and Harold Hughes of Iowa and George
JtfcGbvern of South Dakota. ' '. . i
This election year' we have an alternative to ' the
Thone-Hruska-Curtis leadership. You are invited to talk with Hess
Dyas, Thone's Democratic opponent, today at the Nebraska
Union. The place will be posted.
Mary Kris Jensen
Why the outburst
Dear editor,
Why the sudden outburst of moral indignation over the
expulsion of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn from the Soviet Union, '
particularly by Americans from tha State Dept. on down? After
the Greek military revolt, the Americans' implantment of dictator
Nguyen Van Thieu in South Vietnam and more recently
Satvadore Aliende's overthrow in Chile, the governments began
and still continue a surge against dissident writers. Yet the United
States continues to aid these countries and was one of the first to
recognize the new government in Chile. Even in this nation there
is press censorship, from newspapers (the Justice Dept. vs. the
Pentagon Papers' publication) to that "locally definable" element
called pornography. Perhaps this is just another example of
American inconsistency, which is more often being
internationally viewed as American hypocrisy.
Jim Baiters
Jim Hoppe
Cock-eyed comics
Dear editor,
What are these constant cock-eyed comics doing on your
editorial page every time you put out an edition? If you are going
to do this to President Nixon, then at least say something about
them. You give us a cartoon about Nixon on the bad side but you
never say exactly what it means. Why don't you exploit Congress
that way? Just recently Saiinger came out with a poll saying only
39 of the people era behind the President. And Harris came out
with a poll saying only 21 of the people are behind Congress. ,
It's ironic to see untrusted congressmen trying to bring justice,
but it's humiliating to see that the press is helping these men
mulct us like they are. Either portray Congress as being or rather
having a credibility gap or tell your readers Nixon is more wanted
than Congress. You either take a stance or you show us you're
not a biased newspaper. You can't do both.
Tony DiMaure
Take to heart ,
Dear editor,
"Cannon Law," (Drily Nebraskan, Feb. 14) which you
indicate was written a week ago Tuesday, is the best article I have
seen in the Daily Nebraskan during the seven years I have been
here. I do hope students (and faculty) will take Mary Cannon's
advice to heart.
The University of Nebraska suffers at tha hands of the
Legislature and the governor because too many Nebraskans do
not recognize the difference between a high school, a 2-year
community or technical coilege, a 4-year college and the
University. Until an effective campaign is conducted to
demonstrate these differences to the voting (and taxpaying)
public, the University will continue to ba chronically
undernourished.
Frank Sehmeh!
thursday , february 21,1 974
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