Opinion
Thursday, March 14,1996 Page 4
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Hain.Editor, 472-1766
Doug Kouma.Managing Editor
Doug Peters.Opinion Page Editor
Sarah Scalet.Associate News Editor
Matt Waite. Associate News Editor
Michelle Garner..Wire Editor
Jennifer Mapes.Columnist
Bret Gottschall/DN
Unjust reward
Sperm shouldn ’tgain survivor’s benefits
The Social Security Administration is now recognizing vials of
sperm as legitimate heirs.
Judith Hart, who is now 4 1/2 years old, was bom almost a year
after her father died, but Monday she was awarded Social Security
survivor benefits.
The problem is she’s no survivor.
Judith’s mother, Nancy Hart of Slidell, La., was artificially
inseminated using sperm left behind when her husband, Edward
Hart died.
Before conceiving Judith, Mrs. Hart was already widowed. She
knew the financial situation she was in without her husband and made
aconscious decision to have a child. That’s a fine decision ifyou have
the means to support a child.
Mrs. Hart either did not have the means or is trying to get extra
money from the government. The young girl who is the result of this
scientific conception will receive $700 a month from Social Security.
With our country facing historic cutbacks in entitlement programs
such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and welfare, it is hard
to believe that an unworthy recipient has been added.
The Social Security administration had fought Mrs. Hart’s claim,
but this week it reversed its course to avoid a court battle.
Mrs. Hart’s lawyers argued that Judith was denied benefits solely
because of the circumstances of her birth, and they noted that the U.S.
Supreme Court had ruled such benefits could not be denied to
illegitimate children.
But the circumstances of Judith’s birth are important in determin
ing her status as a survivor. CanMrs. Hart have anotherchild lOycars
from now using more of Mr. Hart’s sperm and still claim survivor
benefits for that child?
She shouldn’t.
Awarding benefits to this girl completely disregards the intent of
survivor benefits. Survivor benefits should be for families where one
of the wage earners dies, leaving the rest of the family unable to
support themselves.
Squiggly little sperm, even with the potential for life, should not
be considered a family.
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Bad faith
I applaud Sen. Chambers’ efforts
to pass a same-sex marriage bill.
Apparently I am of the small
minority who favor human dignity
for subsets of our culture who
happen to commit sin in the eyes of
the church. Being that our govern
ment is essentially a secular one by
charter I fail to see the bearing of
religious argument on this matter.
The Nebraska Christian Coalition
and the Nebraska Family Council
have faith to act as their conscience.
Bertrand Russell had this to say
about faith:
“It is believed virtuous to have
Faith — that is to say, to have a
conviction which cannot be shaken
by contrary evidence. Or, if contrary ■
evidence might induce doubt, it is
held that contrary evidence must be
suppressed.”
Within this quote the
obscurantism, suppression of
scientific knowledge and tacit
contribution to human suffering of
the church is evident. The faithful
would have us believe that only
through subservience to God can we
truly be happy. Maybe that is the
case. By accepting Christian dogma
we could escape persecution of their
ilk and be free to practice our
cruelty on sinners with the impunity
that goes with faith.
Anthony Wells
senior
computer engineering
Lessons not
learned
Did anyone else find it ironic that
the front page of the March 13 Daily
Nebraskan showed an interracial
couple protesting same-gender
marriage? Has this couple forgotten
that all the same arguments trotted
out this year against gay marriage
were used in the 1950s and ’60s
against interracial marriage? Back
then, as now, the religious extremists
I
Bret Gottschall/DN
swore the Bible backed them up.
Don’t we ever learn from history?
Then again, the Bible has been used
to defend slavery, deny women basic
civil rights, and prove that the sun
goes around the earth. I wonder who
the next targets will be ...
Scott Miller
St. Louis, Mo.
Suicide
I have never had a desire to write
to the DN until I read Steve Willey’s
column on March 13. Very few
things affect me the way that article
did, and 1 just had to write.
I applaud Mr. Willey for speaking
so frankly about something so
personal. I, too, had a family
member commit suicide, when I was
18 years old. It was the hardest time
of my life, and my feelings were
much the same as those Mr. Willey
talked about.
Yet, all too often, friends and
family are discouraged to talk about
their anger and hurt towards the
suicide. Thank you, Mr. Willey, for
putting on paper what so many of us
are/were feeling.
Natalie Wilson
freshman
environmental chemistry
Lies
Nebraska must be careful in the
current movement to ban same-sex
marriage.
Yes. South Dakota degraded non
traditional families by passing a bill,
HB 1143, which states marriage is
for a man and a woman.
To pass HB 1143 in South
Dakota, supporters had to lie to
citizens of the state by telling wild
stories of HIV infection rates and
incidence of syphilis in South
Dakota with “fact” sheets distributed
by pro-family groups, anti-abortion
forces and other religious political
extremists. Their “facts” were not
supported by the state’s health
department, which tells a quite
different story of lower numbers in
sexually transmitted disease and the
nation’s second lowest rate of HIV
infection.
To pass HB 1143 in South
Dakota, supporters demonized gay
and lesbian persons based upon
stereotypes using video of small
portions of New York and San
Francisco gay parades to show what
life would be like in South Dakota if
there were “gay marriages.” False
witness anyone?
To keep the traditional family
alive they had to lie. Ask yourself:
Is your family so weak that you are
willing to break a commandment to
keep your special, civil contract
privileges from people who tell the
truth about themselves?
What lies have been told in
Nebraska in the name of God’s
Truth?
Barry Wick
executive director,
Free Americans Creating Equal
Status of South Dakota, Inc.
(FACES of South Dakota)
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