4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 21, 1994 be N£kbigau &iicrg HAL T-A1ms T CAN"T *BELIEVE IT'5 :50 COLI7J! 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan JOSH DUBOW Editor in Chief ANDREW LEVY Editorial Page Editor / / / } t% r .I /;- *t:~-~ rMA(E 5 Me fHATI So Mve-t! 0 Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board. All other cartoons, articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. w } - WS M: KN~EW TS of L (E ARTHW ~AK1 'R~OCK5L.J 3a 'DEAD _, r . = :iPNt- J4OW, t1-Avf%-G-.oAF_110 KI)(ND O P HE fZFf , _A N Abortion issue requires dialogue To the Daily: Saturday the 22nd of January will mark the 21st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. These long years have brought us anger, frustration; so many powerful emotions and actions that have lately turned to violence. Those of us who were born after the decision to legalize abortion do not know what it was like to live in the times when abortion was something secret and dangerous. We live in a time when women can get an abortion for practically any reason, be it mental or psychological health. We live in a time of turmoil, of confusion, of "political correctness" - where what you believe in can be accepted only if it is the proper opinion. The issue of abortion has degenerated into one of politics. Twenty-one years have passed since Roe v. Wade and it seems that people are no more educated about the procedures, the inherent dangers and the mental and emotional side effects than they used to be. We have sunk into the quagmire of fear and anger. Our eyes are blinded by "women's issues" and other catchy terms. What about ethics? Abortion is not a religious issue. Forget about feminism. Think logically. Educate yourself. I challenge you to an open forum. Write back. Don't just read this appeal and throw it in the recycling bin. Apathy is what is killing this nation. Democracy is the most powerful political system ever created, but freedom comes with responsibility - a responsibility to yourself and society to become informed with facts - not opinions, not cooked statistics. What does it mean to stand up for the "right" to have an abortion? What does it take to fight for the unborn? What is it that motivates and drives a person in such a cause? Do not be afraid to admit to yourself that you are scared that one day you will need the option of an abortion, that you want that choice. But don't turn away from pictures of aborted fetuses that look like babies whose skin have been burned away or who have been torn from limb to limb. If you make a decision accept its ramifications. Likewise if you defend the rights of the "unborn," be prepared to accept single mothers. More than that, be prepared to support single mothers. Learn to understand the concerns and fears of women whose lives are forever changed by the selfless act of giving life. It is the cruelest torture to place a woman in a position of such a "choice." On the one hand she can "erase" all the mistakes and make everything better - all with just one "simple" and traumatizing procedure. On the other hand if she chooses the future of her baby she seems to be giving up her own. What's wrong with this picture? A woman has no choice. Abortion pits women against their own children as competitors for the favors of the patriarchy. It is ignorance that is killing our future. Do not turn away. Face the issue, not the politics and rhetoric. Face up to your responsibility as a human being. Think! JUSTYNA CZARNECKI I A nnhkmnre Y~4)_ (r-~rK"~ LPtILY In this politically correct society, we have become so accustomed to playing words for their effect, that it is commonplace and passes unnoticed. Euphemisms like "reproduction rights" or "termination of pregnancy" are the current vogue to describe abortion. How nice and pretty. How in keeping with modern man's need to overlook reality and the essence of the thing - the need to ignore the consequences and responsibilities of our actions. No matter how you dress up salmon, it is still a fish. No matter how you choose to label abortion, it is still murder - the violent extinction of an innocent and defenseless life. The pagans of centuries past - brutal and vicious in their sacrifices - were at least honest when they killed children for their odious "gods." They valued life enough to make it the ultimate "gift" of their religion. They realized they were sacrificing that gift to Baal and Isis. Modern man - outwardly "cultured" and "civilized" - is inherently dishonest. After all, it's an ugly thought to realize that you are willing to literally rip a defenseless baby limb from limb just to offer sacrifice to your favorite god of the moment - Pleasure, Selfishness or Convenience. Instead of facing the reality of the issue, we try to find refuge from truth behind lofty sounding phrases and words. But don't let this slight detour into the realm of truth hinder your efforts for "reproductive rights" Rev. Bushdiecker. Feel confident about your need to defend the murder of 1 million innocents annually. After all, you have a "distinguished" forerunner in the first major political figure of the 20th Century who strongly advocated the necessity of state-funded abortions. As for myself, I prefer to avoid any associations with Adolf Hitler. JOHN SCHAUBLE LSA sophomore Kevorkian could teach outgoing seniors To the Daily: I get a mild laugh out of reading about Dennis Denno's attempts to bring Jack Kevorkian in as a commencement speaker. Sure, there are the tongue-in-cheek connotations (just so long as CO gas doesn't suffocate the seniors, if there is no police involvement, etc.) On a more serious note, Dr. Kevorkian would have something to offer the outgoing seniors. His actions, due to their dubious legal nature, are not acceptable to everyone. But, what commencement speaker's actions ever are? I think that the critical issue is one of character, which he does a good job of displaying. Character, as a measure, is how well someone sticks to his or her own code of ethics. Kevorkian has done that, has had the courage to do what he feels is right, whether or not others agreed with him. Kevorkian could give to this campus what is seriously lacking - the impetus to be inner-directed; to do what is right even if it is not the Women still don't report many rapes for various reasons, so the one- in-three figure is far more accurate than one-in-eight. Buried deep in the hearts and minds of many a woman are memories of a rape, sometimes long forgotten, sometimes long remembered. Crimes that never were reported, but nevertheless make the higher numbers of rape no less real ir a woman's mind. Sometimes she is able to get on with her life with few scars. Sometimes she is permanently and emotionally damaged. I speak from experience. I was raped once by a former boyfriend (never mind that multiple rapes in a bad, past marriage) and my adult daughter was raped twice: once as a four-year-old by a neighborhood boy and once as a teenager, a date rape b an "upstanding," aspiring young minister. My teen daughter was also raped twice - once at the age of 13 by a young adult acquaintance (it was reported and he was arrested, but prosecutors put it on hold), and again at the age of 15 by a stranger who dragged her to the bushes (her faith in the system destroyed, she refused to report it). Both occurred between and 12 in the morning. So it's three- in-three for us ... for now (or more accurately, five-in-three). Only through efforts by organizations like SAPAC are women getting the courage and strength to report and emotionally survive rapes. Those who can't do gain some strength from the knowledge that people are working to educate and provide support. We" will never know the true figures on rape, but rest assured, they are far higher than what we do know now. SHALANE SHELEY Ann Arbor Religion can't stop spread of AIDS" To the Daily: I am writing in response to the letter that was printed in the Daily on Dec. 2 concerning AIDS. This letter was printed less than 24 hours after National AIDS Awareness Day had ended. The purpose of this national event was to educate and inform people on how to prevent AIDS. You are still at risk of contracting the HIV virus regardless if whether or not you believe in Jesus. Religious preferences and preaching that Americans must "beware of Satan and Hell" has nothing to do with whether or not you will contract AIDS. It seems that along with the religious views that are being imposed here, there also comes a lack of understanding as to the significance and reality of AIDS. Ignorance in this sense can be very dangerous. As it is said over and over, AIDS does not discriminate. Whether you "believe in Jesus" or not, AIDS is still a fact of life that every single person should be aware of. It has been medically proven that there are specific methods (regarding sexual practices, intravenous needle usage, etc.) to prevent AIDS. These means of prevention that have been stated over and over by doctors are the only ways to prevent AIDS. AIDS rnnnt h enmhted h hlief ' > . .. _ t :: .-..