Monday, January 27, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Page 5
Qi
Change cause, not afoo&ion law
Because you published editorial
columns (Jan. 21 and 22) against
legal abortion, I feel it is necessary
to respond. Although the issue has
been debated time and time again, I
think I can provide a different per
spective. Pro-choice people are the
silent majority, and I hope what follows
represents their views.
Guest Opinion
I will approach this issue with a
historical and evolutionary perspective,
but also will consider the function of
abortion in modern society. In the past
abortion has been practiced in almost
every society of the world and is a
practice of great antiquity probably
dating back to early Homo sapiens.
Before the advent of modern abortion
techniques and adequate contracep
tion, women who wanted to control the
size and structure of their families
faced limited options. First was absti
nence. They also could use abortive
concoctions that rarely worked, such
as a mix of gunpowder and vodka or
herbal teas. Physical manipulation of
the uterus such as pounding the belly,
jumping out of trees or carrying exces
sive loads also were means of abortion.
Both methods often resulted in the
death of the mother. The final choice
was to carry the baby to term and kill it
at birth infanticide.
Lest you should think of such prac
tices as capable of only those with a
primitive mind, our ancestors were not
beyond such practices. In western
Europe until the 19th century, inten
tional infanticide came in the form of
abandonment and "accidental" smother
ing when infants slept with their mothers.
Why was this practice so prevalent?
Modern researchers suggest that par
ents were insuring their own survival
and the survival of existing children by
eliminating children born while another
was still nursing or before another
child could walk if the group was
mobile (children are usually carried by
the mother until age 4 in mobile
groups). The object of survival in primi
tive society is to have enough children
to outlive you and care for you when you
are old. To invest in too many children
too early or too soon may mean that
none survive. This is evidenced by the
high fertility and infant mortality rate
in many Third World countries today.
The argument is actually much more
complex than what I have presented
here, but space does not permit more.
How does this relate to the issue of
abortion in the United States today?
Why is abortion so prevalent in the
United States? Abortion occurs because
unwanted pregnancies occur. Unwant
ed pregnancies occur because our social
structure does not provide the educa
tion or support necessary to prevent
unwanted births. If we want to stop
abortion, we must stop unwanted
births.
The real issue should be "what is the
best way to stop unwanted births?" The
answer obviously is not to make abortion
illegal. As discussed earlier, the lack of
clinical abortion did not prevent abo
riginal societies from practicing abor
tion. What did limit abortion in primi
tive societies: contraceptive practices.
In primitive society, the most effec
tive forms of contraception were long,
intensive breastfeeding (usually up to
four years) which suppressed ovulation
and post partum sex taboos that did
not permit sexual intercourse for a
period of six months to two years after
birth. When these practices failed,
abortion andor infanticide were used.
. Unfortunately, in today's society, even
discussing contraception has become a
taboo.
Because we don't want to acknowl
edge that sexual activity occurs out
side of marriage and among teen
agers, we think it won't happen if we
ignore it. And if we discuss contracep
tion, we acknowledge women's sexual
freedom.
I could discuss other issues related
to abortion, but I will leave this for
others. The point that I would like to
make is that while abortions are ram
pent in U.S. society, the way to reduce
abortion is not by making it illegal.
It also seems doubtful that we will
be able to revert to a time when women
were willing to accept their fate as only
mothers and housewives and the dou
ble standards that suppressed thi sex
ual freedom of women. These are the
1980s, and the 1990s are just around
the corner.
Women's rights are here to stay, as
are the right to abortion and the right
to limit births through safe, adequate
contraception. I suggest that the peo
pie who want to stop abortion spend
their time more fruitfully by becoming
involved in contraceptive education,
fighting for better forms of contracep
tion, male contraceptives or, better yet,
start discussing contraception with
their own children.
Let us address the cause, which is
our own inability to deal with changes
in our social behavior, and leave the
law as stands. We may find down the
road that abortion is no longer an issue
Anne M. Wolley
graduate
anthropology
Letters
Student needs to learn toleration
This is a resDonse to Richard De-
Lorme's letter (DN. Jan. 23) in which
he criticized a Chris Welsch column
(DN, Jan. 20) about Sen. Jesse Helms.
Mv first reaction was to emphathize
with DeLorme for his self-professed
"fear of understanding my prognosis." i
quickly realized, though, that he is in
no danger of understanding some things,
including the use of the English lan
guage.
Contrary to DeLorme s beliets, it is
not terrifying that "any dimwit would
have the gall to write (that Helms is an
"embarrassment ) against a senior
member of the United States Senate
and Republican Party." What is terrify
ing is that Jesse Helms is a senior
member of the U.S. Senate and the
Republican Party.
The point is, of course, that nothing
is more American than the freedom to
criticize those in power.
As for DeLorme s "leftist-Marxist-Leninist-communist
factions oozing in
to every known institution in this coun
try . . .," well, say, how long has the
College of Engineering and Technology
been an institution at UNL?
Perhaps Welsch would be in a jail
right now for expressing his political
views if "Madman" Joseph McCarthy
had been given only a little more time.
My advice to DeLorme: You spelled
t-o-l-e-r-a-t-e correctly. The noun is tol
eration. Now go back to the dictionary
and learn what it means.
David Bagby
graduate
German
Being held accountable
COHEN from Page 4
they do. You can actually get mad at
them.
Of course, the city could not func
tion if this rule substituted for The
Washington Rule. The very poor, for
instance, might storm Michel s house,
demanding to know why he has sup
ported the Reagan administrations
Drosram to make their life even harder.
And God knows what would happen if,
say, members of the Hispanic commun
ity approached administration officials
on the street and asked them to justify
the killing of Nicaraguans within Nica
ragua. What if local abortion clinics
barred the wives or daughters of con
gressmen who vociferously oppose
abortion (want names?), and what
would cocktail parties be like if jour
nalists were held accountable by poli
ticians for what they wrote?
In the end, Michel probably will get
what Michel wants. Washington is not
yet Berkeley. But once Michel's indig
nation subsides, he will understand
that he has been paid a compliment.
This, anyway, is what I concluded
moments after that women at the recep
tion took out after me. In a town where
nothing seems to matter, she was pro
claiming that she and her husband did
and so did my writing.
It is the same with Michel and his
garage, and it's why he cannot lose.
Either he'll get it because of who he is or
he won't get it because of what he's
done. If he has to park on the street and
walk home in the rain, he can think of
himself as a latter-day Descartes, the
French philosopher. He said, "I think,
therefore I am." Michel can say, "I'm
wet, therefore I matter."
Washington Post Writers Group
Cohen writen an editorial column for the
Washington Post.
The Division of University Housing is looking for
applicants for student assistant positions to begin Fall
Semester, 1986. For information and applications
come to one of the following meetings in the
Nebraska Union. (Check Daily Events Calendar
for location).
January 27, 3:30 p.m.
January 28, 7:00 p.m.
To apply you must,
... be available for a group process interview
on Feb. 8 or 9
... 2.0 G.P.A.
. . . Sophomore standing, by Fall Semester
Application packets can also be picked up at the
Residential Education office "1102 Seaton Hall"
by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday January 29.
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