OPINION
Tuesday, November 8, 1988
Page 4
The Michigan Daily
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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
420 Maynard St.
Vol. IC, No. 44. Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other
cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the Daily.
.y
Letters to the editor ____
Final pre-election comments
No'
on
Proposal
PROPOSAL A, which if passed would not consider the anguish i
"restrict the use of tax funds for abor- carrying an unwanted ch
tions for persons receiving public as- no provision for women
sistance," is a dangerous attempt by and in so doing condemns
anti-choice activists to restrict the re- lifetime of pain and discr
productive rights of poor women. the argument is purely m(
Since 1978, Michigan governors have longing the life of a child
vetoed seventeen attempts to limit these substantially more expen
rights. cost of an abortion.
If passed, Proposal A would set a Proposal A does not
precedent for the erosion of women's pregnancies due to rap(
reproductive rights in Michigan and Women who are victimize
nationally. It would be a successful rape and incest should not
first step by anti-choice forces toward for being raped by bein
overturning the Supreme Court's ruling carry a reminder of the cr
in Roe v. Wade. months and, perhaps, ha
The anti-choice movement, the with it for the rest of
Committee to End Tax-Funded Abor- CETFA asserts that less t
tions (CETFA), argues that stopping cent of welfare abortions
the use of tax dollars does not deny rape, but the FBI says t
poor women abortions, stating "In the mately 90 percent of rap
thirty-six states that have stopped pay- ported. Apparently, CETF
ing for welfare abortions, eighty per- also .do not recognize a
cent of welfare-eligible women who rape, which accounts for'
were expected to seek abortions still all rapes.
obtained them using private funds..." The anti-choice movem
Proposal A discriminates against fighting for the lives of
women on the basis of social class, Proposal A will do nothin
placing abortion out of their financial underlying problem of una
grasp. It discriminates against that 20 education, birth control, p
percent of poor women who may natal care, and day care
choose abortion but are forced to have women.
a child because they cannot pay for an Proposal A is unfair a.
abortion. Those who choose to try to able. It discriminates again
gather funds for abortions at expensive the basis of class and race
private clinics risk complications dur- provision for women wit
ing abortion because of the time they survivors of rape and inc
must spend gathering funds. Those portantly, if it passes,i
who can't gather funds for an abortion precedent against womer
cannot be expected to be able to gather tive rights that will begin
funds to adequately care for a child. erosion of these rights fo
Proposal A has several holes. It does The Daily urges a "No" or
'No'Ton Proposal
nvolved with
ild. It makes
nwith AIDS
the fetus to a
rimination. If
onetary, pro-
with AIDS is
sive than the
provide for
e or incest.
d and survive
t be punished
ng forced to
rime for nine
aving to live
their lives.
han one per-
s result from
hat approxi-
pes go unre-
FA's statistics
cquaintance
90 percent of
ent says it is
people, but
g to solve the
availability of
?re- and post-
for working
nd unaccept-
nst women on
It makes no
th AIDS and
est. Most im-
it will set a
n's reproduc-
e the gradual
r all women.
n Proposal A.
PROPOSAL B, the proposal to include
crime victims' rights in the constitution
is an unnecessary and ambiguous pro-
posal which would only serve to pre-
vent state legislators from dealing di-
rectly with the real social causes ofa
crime. Proposal B ignores the most
important issues dealing with crime and
crime prevention and is a backlash of
the conservative "tough on crime"
position currently held by many politi-
cians.
Proposal B would provide for vic-
tims to have certain rights within the
judicial process and would include the
right to: be treated with fairness and re-
spect for their dignity and privacy; be
reasonably protected from the accused;
be notified of court proceedings; make
a statement to court at sentencing; in-
formation about conviction, sentence,
imprisonment and release of accused.
Proposal B is unnecessary because
victims' rights are already provided for
in the constitution under the rights of
all citizens to due process of law.
Also, the language of Proposal B is
intentionally vague. Words like
"fairness," "respect," and "reasonable"
are all abstractions which can easily be
manipulated. These, however, are the
least compelling arguments against
Proposal B.
If it is in fact true that our judicial
system operates on the presumption of
innocence, why then is it necessary to
provide the victim "protection from the
'accused?" This perpetuates,the notion
-that all people who are accused of
crimes are in fact guilty, and danger-
ous. If in certain circumstances it be-
comes necessary for individuals to seek
Vote 'Y
MICHIGAN'S Department of Natural
Resources has identified 1778 toxic
waste sites in Michigan. Proposal C
would allocate 660 million dollars to
begin clean-up 600 of these sites, pro-
vide clean drinking water for residents
in areas polluted by toxic waste, and to
contribute to an eight-state Great Lakes
A I
,protection they can do this under the
current system in the form of court or-
ders and injunctions.
To allow a statement to be made by
victims prior to sentencing is to admit
that individual, subjective sentiment is
part of the basis on which sentencing
occurs. The judicial system ostensibly
operates on formulaic, objective crite-
ria. Given that this type of fairness is
impossible to achieve anyway, why
cloud the issue further by allowing ob-
viously biased and emotional state-
ments to affect sentencing? Further-
more, any pertinent information will be
admitted as testimony by the victim
during the trial.
To provide victims information about
the imprisonment and eventual release
of the convicted is to open the door to
vigilantism. Knowledge of where and
when a person is released from prison
gives a crime victim the power to pre-
vent that person from effectively re-en-
tering society. Crime victims will have
the power to prevent people from being
accepted by communities, getting jobs
or education. This is intolerable and
will establish a system in which the
rights of people who have been victims
of crime take precedence over the rights
of individuals to re-enter society after
serving time in prison.
If state legislators are truly interested
in crime victims' rights they will begin
to address the real social causes of
crime and effectively decrease the
number of crimes and crime victims.
Until then we cannot accept victim
blaming and unfair laws which deal
with effects and not causes.
Vote No on Proposal B.
Dukaki s
for values
To the Daily:
What are American values? I
ask this question because
George Bush claims that he is,
the candidate for American val-
ues, implying that Michael
Dukakis is not.
I think that religious liberty
is an American value. When
Bush ridicules Governor
Dukakis for vetoing legislation
making the Pledge of Alle-
giance mandatory in Mas-
sachusetts public schools, it
calls into question Bush's
commitment to religious free-
dom. By vetoing that bill,
Dukakis was standing up for
the rights of those groups
whose religious convictions
preclude them from taking any
sort of oath or pledge. Would
George Bush have us go back
to a time when people who re-
fused on religious grounds to
recite the pledge were beaten
and attacked in their churches
and homes by angry mobs?
Does George Bush remember
this part of our history? He
should, because in June of
1940 a mob of 2500 ransacked
and burned down a Jehova's
Witness Church in Ken-
nebunkeport, Maine-George
Bush's present hometown.
I think that freedom of
speech is an American value.
When George Bush persistently
attacks Michael Dukakis for
his membership in the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union, an
organization deeply committed
to defending the First Amend-
ment, it makes me wonder.
I think that separation of
church and state is an American
value. When George Bush al-
lies himself with Jerry Falwell,
Pat Robertson, and others who
would blur the church-state
distinction, I grow more skep-
tical.
I think that individual pri-
vacy from government intru-
sion is an American value.
And yet George Bush wants to
make abortion a crime, thus
denying women the freedom to
make decisions concerning
their own bodies. Mike
Dukakis believes that women
should be free from govern-
ment interference with their re-
productive freedom.
I think that compassion is an
American value. When George
Bush talks of "a kindler and
gentler nation" and "a thousand
points of light", he emphasizes
private charity. Mike Dukakis
thinks that government can be
compassionate as well. George
Bush talks as if government
were inherently evil. But the
issue isn't big government or
small government, it's good
government or bad govern-
ment, Mike Dukakis believes
that government can help to
improve the quality of life of
its citizens. Remember civil
rights laws? Or environmental
and consumer protection laws?
I agree with George Bush
.when he says that we should
vote for the candidate who rep-
resents American values. That
is why I am voting for Michael
Dukakis.
-Roger Kosson
November S
Proposal A
cruel and
arrogant
To the Daily:
In his response to Molly
Henry's lucid and compassion-
dollars pay for it." Well, Mr.
Morrow, not only do I dispute,
your statistics with respect to
the percentage of pregnancies
resulting from rape, but I
would further assert that neither
"abstinence" nor indeed sexual
activity have ever been solely a
matter of choice for women.
Male violence has been there
on either side, punishing sex
with various technologies of
repression, from the chastity
belt to televangelism, and
punishing abstinence and re-
fusal with rape, beatings, hu-
miliation and even homicide.
There is another 100% effec-
tive form of birth control that
some women choose; it's
called lesbianism. But that too
meets with the hostility and
punitive strategies of gyno-
phobes like Mr. Morrow.
Mr. Morrow shows his reac-
tionary colors most openly
when he equates pregnancy
with a "lack of discipline."
Anyone who hasn't been living
in Jerry Falwell's attic for a
long time should know that
poor women have fewer alter-
natives, sexually and finan-
cially, than any other stratum
of this nation's populace. They
are more consistently subject
to sexual abuse of all sorts;
they are more consistently left
alone to raise unwanted chil-
dren, and their voices are heard
less than anyone's. Who is Mr.
Morrow to stand in judgment
from an economically privi-
leged position, to prescribe the
rules of sexual activity, and to
use his middle-class leverage as
a "taxpayer" against the poor?
As it needs to be said over
and over, I will say it again:
Proposal A specifically de-
prives poor women of one of
very few options left to them.
To legislate their personal lives
from a position of fiscal com-
fort is certainly unethical, as
Molly Henry reminds us. It is
also cruel. And arrogant.
-Simon Glickman
October 17
Dukakis:
demagogue
To the Daily:
Keith Brand's letter of
October 18 urging students to
vote for Dukakis goes a long
way towards explaining the
Democratic party's poor results
in recent presidential elections.
Mr. Brand (and-Dukakis) seem
not to have learned a thing in
the past eight years.
Although I can sympathize
with Mr. Brand's disgust about
demagogic patriotism, phony
promises, and distorted records,
I think he really underestimates
Dukakis' problems. For one,
Dukakis has himself played
fast and easy with the facts (his
purported budget balancings are
but one example), and has
played the demagogue on the
issue of economic patriotism
(reversing his position in favor
of protectionism). The main-
stream media pick up on these
petty conflicts and claims.
Some Americans surely will
vote on the basis of these
smear campaigns.
I fear that Brand does not
perceive the ideological defi-
ciencies of Dukakis' campaign.
For one, most Americans are
deeply suspicious of any ex-
pansion of government coer-
cion in their lives. Dukakis'
Massachusetts has experienced
an unprecedented growth in
state power during his reign.
The problem for Dukakis: his
ideology impels him to expand
the state's role in society, yet
will not tolerate reckless ideo-
logues' efforts to further gov-
ernment interests against the
public interest. In Mas-
sachusetts Dukakis has failed
to defend the common man
against the excesses of gov-
ernment.
Governors across the U.S.
strive to establish private-sec-
tor initiatives and to scale back
many programs. Bush under-
stands this better than Dukakis.
Perhaps it is because public
opinion has changed so much,
or perhaps because Democratic
nomenclature is rigidly ideo-
logical; in any event, Dukakis
is out of touch with main-
stream America.
All of this is not good for
America. When one party con-
sistently gets routed at the
polls, our polity suffers. I hope
the Democrats do better in
1992.
-David S. Bauders
October 20
Election:
more than
two parties
To the Daily:
Your "88 Election Guide"
(Weekend, 11/4/88) reeks of
the political censorship that
has been common throughout
this campaign. Only two par-
ties - the Republican and
Democratic parties - are listed .
and discussed. The listing is
incomplete. There are numer-
ous third parties running on
local and national levels. One
such party, the Workers
Against Concessions Party,
provides a clear alternative to
the Republicans and
Democrats. In Michigan,
twenty-six working people -
not professional politicians -
are running on the Workers
Against Concessions slate.
They are running to make a
stand against the attacks that
people have been facing -
plant closings, school cuts,
rising unemployment, falling
wages. They are running to
provide a real alternative to the
Democrats and Republicans.
People in Ann Arbor have an
opportunity to express their
dissatisfaction with the policies
of the Republicans and
Democrats. In Ann Arbor, four
Workers Against Concessions
candidates are on the ballot:
Sally Bier for U.S. Senate,
Scott Jones for Michigan
House of Representatives -
District 53 (Ann Arbor), Verna
Baird and Annette Johnson for
the State Board of Education.
-Jeffrey Miller
Robert Kotchenruther
November 7
Morris for
Circuit
judge
To the Daily:
I was extremely disappointed
by the Daily's endorsement ar-
ticle of the judicial candidate
Nancy C. Francis. I respect the
paper's privilege to state its
opinion, however, the paper
lacked responsibility by stating
facts that are simply untrue.
Here are a few facts about
Melinda Morris:
Melinda Morris is an honors
graduate from the University of
Michigan Law school in 1963.
Soon after graduation, she
gained extensive courtroom
experience as an Assistant
Public Defender, and acquired
the skills necessary to be an
effective trial lawyer. She has
practiced for 25 years in Ann
Arbor, and has shown leader-
ship ability - past president
of the Washtenaw County Bar
Association. She is endorsed
by the incumbent judge, Henry
T. Conlin, as well as the
Michigan Trial Lawyers Asso-
ciation. She has wide commu-
nity bi-partisan support.
I believe that the Daily has a
right to its opinion, however it
is unfair to the reader, who
trusts the judgement of this
paper to misinform and mislead
them. Therefore, I would only
mislead the reader if I didn't
state that I am Melinda Morris'
daughter.
-Molly M. Morris
November 7
Yes on 'A'
To the. Daily:
The major problem in the
presentation of Proposal A is
the gross misconceptions pro-
choice advocates proclaim.
First, the idea of money be-
ing an issue is false. Pro-
choice advocates are eager to
remind the public that without
these abortions the number of
welfare children will increase,
thereby costing us more than
medicaid abortions (approxi-
mately six million). However,
there has been absolutely no
proof of welfare increases
through the thirty-six states
which discontinued the tax-
funding.
Second, pro-choice advocates
are trying to tell the public that
ending of tax-funded abortions
will deprive poor women of
abortions. This statement sim-
ply has not been verified.
Abortions will continue to be
performed and there is no rea-
son to believe that they will be
beyond the means of poor
women.
Finally, the real issue is
whether Michigan can take my
tax contributions to finance the
murder (and all semantics aside,
it is murder) of thousands of
unborn lives. I'm voting YES
on Proposal A.
-Rose Karadsheh
November 7
Correction:
In yesterday's editorial
"Francis for Judge," the Daily
incorrectly reported the en-
dorsement of the Washtenaw
County Bar Association for
Washtenaw County Circuit
Court judge. The WCBA en-
dorsed Melinda Morris. The
Daily apologizes for the mis-
take.
I
I
__________________________________________ I-
"es yonC
protection program.
Corporations, including Gelman
Sciences in Ann Arbor, contribute
greatly to deterioration of Michigan's
environment. The legislature has not
appropriated funds to save Michigan's
ecosystem, therefore voter initiative is
the only solution. The Daily urges
readers to vote 'Yes' on C.
I T% .1.