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April 27,1989 _ University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 88 No. 147
Abortion debate riles opinionated crowd
Weddington, Schlafly square off
in emotional abortion debate
By Brandon Loomis
Staff Reporter
Fifteen hundred cheering and
hissing people packed the
Nebraska Union Wednesday
night to hear two prominent abortion
rights experts debate whose rights are
at stake in the latest Supreme Court
abortion case.
Just hours after the Supreme Court
heard arguments on a case that could
overturn the Roe vs. Wade decision,
(minions for and against abortion
clashed in the union’s Centennial
Ballroom.
Sarah Weddington, the lawyer
who won the abortion-legalizing Roe
vs. Wade case in 1973, argued philo
sophical, legal and religious views on
abortion with Phyllis Schlafly, a na
tional leader in the anti-abortion
movement
Weddington said that although
abortion is not always perfect, the
U.S. Constitution allows for women
to make the decision about what is
best for themselves.
“...Ido feel very strongly that we
live in a nation where the
Constitution allows us, not the gov
ernment, to make the decision,”
Weddington said.
Schlafly responded that the gov
ernment guarantees certain inalien
able rights, two of which are the right
to life and to due process of law.
“The unborn baby has not had any
due process whatsoever,” she said.
Schlafly compared the act of abor
tion to the process by which Hitler
attempted genocide. She said the
extermination of fetuses is like the
extermination of Jews during the
Holocaust
“The (Nazi) medical community
said that these people were not neces
sary, their life didn’t have enough
r ..
quality,” she said.
Weddington said the Holocaust
“clearly” was not relevant to the
discussion.
In fact, she said, Hitler told Aryan
women that they must carry pregnan
cies to term to advance the race.
“And that is exactly what people
are trying to say ... ” Weddington
said.
Schlafly said that when 300,000
pro-choice advocates marched on
Washington this month, they were
marching for die right to kill.
Weddington denied that
“We were marching for dignity,”
she said.
Schlafly argued that the right to
privacy ends when the individual
commits an action that the society
perceives as wrong.
we nave laws againsi rape, we
have laws against spouse abuse, we
have laws against prostitution,” she
said. Although any of those three
crimes can be committed in private,
she said, the public should have an
interest in protecting the victims.
Weddington dismissed any con
nection between crime and abortion,
and said religious factions have no
right to impose their beliefs on indi
viduals.
“There are some people who be
lieve that we should not eat meat...
but we do not allow them to take all
meat off our tables,” she said.
Weddington said 42 religious
groups have gone on the record as
opposing the belief that an egg is a
person at the moment of conception.
Those groups agree that religious
beliefs should extend only to mem
bers of the religion, she said.
Society should prevent unwanted
pregnancies through sex education
See DEBATE on 3
Connie Sheehan/Dsliy Nebraskan
About 1,500 people fill the Nebraska Union’s Centennial Ballroom Wednesday night to hear
Phyllis Schlafly and Sarah Weddington debate abortion rights.
Audience’s opinions remain the same
By Roger Price
and David G. Young
Staff Reporters
Although members of the audi
ence said their opinions on
abortion were not changed by
the Weddington-Schlafly debate,
most interviewed agreed that Sarah
Weddington presented the better ar
gument
“I was very disappointed with
Phyllis Schlafly,’ ’ said Joyce Melvin,
a senior English major. “I really
thought she would be a more effec
tive speaker. She talked herself into
circles and that’s all she did. I’m pro
choice and I think it enforced it more
listening to Schlafly.”
Peggy Salzman, a freshman news
editorial major, agreed.
”1 think Schlafly was right, but a
poor defender of her cause,”
Salzman said. “She neglected to
make a lot of points she could have.”
Other audience members said
Schlafly’s performance was ham
pered by reactions from the audience.
On several instances, they said, Sch
lafly was shouted down by listeners.
“I think that Schlafly had the
harder time with it, because she was
trying to overcome more harassment
than the other speaker,” said Richard
Terrell, professor of art at Doane
College.
Despite these instances, several
people said they were influenced by
Schlafly's words.
“It was interesting to hear both
sides,” said Milford resident Carolyn
Peters. “I think it strengthened my
opinion in supporting Miss Schlafly,
even though it seemed like most of
the questions were attacking Miss
Schlafly”
See PROTEST on 3
Second case of rubeola measles
diagnosed at UNL’s Health Center
By Bob Nelson
Senior Editor
An Abel Hall resident was
diagnosed Wednesday
morning with the first
“second generation” case of
rubeola measles on the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, said
Dr. Gerald Fleischli, medical di
rector of the University Health
Center.
The male student, who lives on
the same floor as the first victim,
had the cough, rash, nasal conges
tion, fever and conjuclivitis asso
ciated with the measles, Fleischli
said. He also said the liming of the
second diagnosis, seven days after
the first case, is appropriate in rela
tion to the 10- to 14-day measles
incubation period.
Fleischli said the diagnosis of a
“second generation case” has no
affect on the success of the mass
immunization that began Wednes
day in Cook Pavilion and the Ne
braska Union.
He said the immunization ef
forts, which drew 3,012 students of
the 13,282 not known to be immu
nized to the two locations by 3 p.m.
Wednesday, could only stop the
advent of a “third generation” of
the illness. Fleischli said he would
not be surprised if as many as 13
students already have measles.
“There’s nothing we can do
about those cases,’ ’ he said.
Fleischli said student participa
tion in the mass immunizations has
been outstanding.
“I can’t believe the fantastic
cooperation by everyone,” he
said.
Fleischli said the turnout at the
Centennial Ballroom site was con
siderably higher than the Cook
Pavilion turnout
He said that today, the union
site will be even more crowded
because the immunizations will be
done in the smaller area of the
union’s main floor lobby.
Immunizations will continue
today at the indoor practice field
and at the union location from 7
a.m. to 7 p.m. Fleischli said that
although students with last names
beginning with N through Z weie
recommended to get immunized
today, students with last names
beginning with A through M still
may receive a shot.
Fleischli said individual inocu
lations took as little as two minutes
Wednesday. He said students can
shorten the amount of time it takes
to be immunized by reading and
filling out the immunization re
quest font) beforehand. The immu
nization request forms will be
available at both locations.
Fleischli said students who
have classes with the infected stu
dent should definitely get immu
nized today. He said that while
contagious, the student attended
his 10:30 a.m. History 201 class in
Burnett 207 on Monday, Wednes
day and Friday and his 8:30 a.m.
Electrical Engineering Lab 231 in
Walter Scott Engineering Center
323 on Tuesday.
Fleischli said the new case of
measles was not ‘ ‘aclassical case’ *
like the first case. The most re
cently diagnosed student was im
properly immunized at an age of
10 months, Fleischli said, causing
an “atypical case” - or one with
slightly mutated symptoms. Fleis
chli said Wednesday’s victim had
only mild cases of conjuntivitis,
nasal congestion and coughing.
People bom after 1957 who
were immunized before 1969 or
before the ageof 15 months should
be reimmunized, he said.
Fleischli said the student diag
nosed Wednesday has been immu
nized again Friday but already had
contracted the illness.
The health center received
more than enough vaccine to
handle the mass immunizations,
Fleischli said. The 10,000 doses
the center originally ordered from
the state health department were
received along with 4,500 more
doses from neighboring state
health departments, he said.
ASUN passes bill discouraging
regents from discriminating
By Ryan Steeves
Staff Reporter
The AS UN senate passed a bill
Wednesday night urging the
NU Board of Regents to add a
clause to its policies prohibiting dis
crimination on the basis of sexual
orientation.
Senate Bill 4 urges regents to add
the clause to their bylaws as well as
their equal opportunity and affirma
tive action policies.
The bill also urges regents to add
statements opposing marital status
discrimination and discrimination
based on a “disability unrelated to a
person's ability to engage in a par
ticular occupation.**
A5UIN president Bryan Plill sup
ported the bill, saying all UNL stu
dents and faculty should be treated
equally despite their sexual prefer
ence.
"I don't think anyone at the uni
versity should be told they can’t have
a job because of sexual orientation,"
Hill said.
Sen. Julie Jorgensen of the Col
lege of Arts & Sciences said the
clause would be a "legitimate addi
tion" to the regent’s bylaws.
Jorgensen said she thinks Ne
braska doesn’t have laws against such
discrimination. Thus, UNL needs
such a policy to protect its students,
she said.
Sen. Patrick Wyatt of the Teacher
College challenged senators to speak
against the bill.
"There is really no legitimate
reason why this should be opposed,"
he said.
No senator spoke against or ob
jected to the bill.
Last week, senators voted to delay
consideration of a resolution similar
to the Senate Bill 4, saying they
needed more time to study the issue.
The bill, which was drafted and
passed by the Special Topics Com
mittee this week, also urges student
leaders at the other two campuses to
lobby regents for the discrimination
clause.
Rodney Bell, chairman of the Gay
and Lesbian Alumni Association,
said the senate’s action could help
change homophobic attitudes at
UNL.
"I think it’s a wonderful step in
the right direction," he said.
In other action, senators agreed to
hold regular senate meetings on East
Campus once a month.
Sen. Debbie Nguyen, co-sponsor
of the bill calling for the change of
venue, said East Campus students
feel alienated because ASUN often
overlooks them.
Nguyen, who represents the Col
lege of Home Economics, said hold
ing a meeting on East Campus would
restore their faith in the student gov
ernment
To avoid confusion about meeting
locations, the senate will meet on
East Campus on the last Wednesday
of each month, Nguyen said.
Jorgensen said changing the meet
ing place only would confuse stu
dents, whether or not they meet on the
See ASUN on 3