4-Thursday, July 10, 1980-The Michigan Daily
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A poor choice
EXT WEEK, the Regents will set tuition rates
Nfor the 1980-81 academic year. The importance
of the hike cannot be overstated, especially in view of
tightened state education appropriations and the
increased difficulty students are having in ob-
taining financial aid. But if students want to offer
their opinions on the tuition decision, they shouldn't
go to the Administration Building. The Regents
won't be there.
Those students who have a vested interest in how
much they'll be paying for an education at the
University shouldn't drive to the Dearborn campus
to locate the Regents; they won't be there, either.
Nor will they be at the Flint campus.
The Regents - upon arrangements made by the
administration - are holding their all-important
July meeting at the Interlochen National Music
Camp in Traverse City, more than 200 miles from
Ann Arbor. The move, while most likely not an in-
tentional attempt to evade the views of concerned
students, is surely an irresponsible oversight on the
part of the administration.
Why Interlochen? The executive officers
(President Shapiro and the six vice-presidents) ac-
cepted an invitation from Interlochen more than
six months ago to hold their July meeting there.
While at that time it was not certain when the
tuition decision was going to be made, in the past
three years the July meeting has always been the
time of the crucial tuition increases.
At the June Regents meeting, concern was ex-
pressed that the location might limit student par-
ticipation. Subsequently, the executive officers
reviewed the decision, but decided not to move the
place of the meeting.
Apparently, ,the inconvenience of changing a
meeting place to accommodate a better forum for
student views means little to the executive officers.
But why Interlochen? It is the studying grounds
for 50 University music students. The University,
as a state-funded institution, has a responsibility to
hold meetings not only at other campuses, but at
those places where the University has a financial
or academic interest. With 50 University students
studying at the music camp, Interlochen is surely a
deserving host to the Regents.
But there are important and not-so-important
meetings, and the July meeting could be this year's
most important. It appears obvious that if volatile
issues - such as tuition increases - are to be
discussed at a meeting, the meeting should be held
in a place to which students have ready access.
Although in the summer students are scattered
outside Ann Arbor, the greatest concentration of
'U' students is still here. Most of the faculty mem-
bers and administrators are also in the city. Con-
sidering the controversial subject, there is no
justification for holding a meeting in Traverse
City.
The Regents should-meet this month in Ann Ar-
bor, or even in Flint or Dearborn.
But Interlochen?
ALTHOUGH MANY INDIVID
Hyde Amendment, some pro-li
dment will abortions be satisfas
Hyde)
not stri
OnJune 30, 1980, the Supreme
Court of the United States
declared constitutional the Hyde
Amendment prohibiting federal
funding of elective abortions. The
Hyde Amendment to the Labor-
HEW appropriations bill
provided: "None of the funds
contained in this act shall be used
to perform abortions except
where the life of the mother
would be endangered if the fetus
were carried to term." In the 1979
version provisions were added
for funding of abortion in the
cases of promptly reported rape
or incest.
We of RIGHT TO LIFE-LIFE-
SPAN of Washtenaw County
greet the Supreme Court's vin-
dication of the Hyde Amendment
with mixed emotions. We are
overjoyed that thousands of in-
nocent babies will be spared a
brutal death at the hands of abor-
tionists, that federal taxpayers
are no longer forced to pay for
such unjust killing, and that
monies formerly used for
destruction can now be used for
better pre-natal and maternal
health care. However, abor-
tion-and the desperate anti-life
mentality which fosters it--is still
rampant, causing the deaths of
over a million babies annually,
and our goal of securing a Human
Life Amendment to the U.S. Con-
stitution remains.
WE REJECT THE view that
pregnancy is a "punishment" for
sexual activity, or thatit is
something to be dreaded by the
mother or by society at large.
The advent of a new life, which
begins at fertilization, is a great
blessing, and the failure to
recognizethat blessing is o rof
the greatest failures of moral
vision in our times.
Behind much of the pro-
abortion propaganda is the fear
that without widespread publicly-
funded abortion we will be inun-
dated by masses of "the poor." In
fact, when the pro-abortion
elitists express their "concern.
AP Photo
UALS hailed last week's Supreme Court decision upholding the
ifers believe that only with the passage of a Human Life Amen-
ctorily banned.
Amendment
ict enough
By Joan Byrne from a national monitoring
and Teri Rohde system, which also could not
document that the restrictions
about "poor women," they are of public funds for abortion
really talking about eliminating caused a large percentage of
future generations of poor Medicaid-eligible women to
minorities: blacks, Hispanics, choose self-induced or non-
Indians, etc. This is the reason physician induced abortion.
that the Hyde Amendmentis so physicitaniducedtabrtion.kl
detested by the pro-abortionists: (Morbidity and MortalityWeekly
it prevents government subsidy Report, June 6, 1980).
of Margaret Sanger's master Though the Hyde Amendment
plan to eliminate thepoor and decreases the pressure on the
"feeble-minded" and to create a poor to kill their babies before
new "race of thoroughbreds." they can be born, it is but a small
This kind of thinly-veiled victory in the battle in defense of
elitism lies behind much of the human life. Not until a Human
pro-abortion rhetoric, and the Life Amendment is passed to
scare tactics of predicting a restore legal protection to each
blood-bath from back-alley and human being from the moment of
self-induced abortions is only a conception, without regard to
cover for their real concern, as age, health or condition of depen-
stated, for example, by Michigan dency, will we really begin to
State Rep. David Evans (D-Mt. regain recognition of the innate
.e : T l. t value and respect due to every
Clemens): "This legislature human life.
ems determine to puni We must finally cast off the
peple ... and to assure we have
an ample supply of them (poor ideology which places a price tag
people) in future generations." on human life and categorizes
(The Ann Arbor News, June 18, some persons lives as notworth
An1 Abr8ewJue)8 living." Once the principle is
19 EDICTIONS OF A blood- established that one class of
bath following implementation of human beings is expendable to
the Hyde Amendment have the convenience of another class,
already been proven false. In as in the case of denying the right
1978,-the National Center for to life to the unborn, then it is only
Disease Control, which expected a matter of time until death
dire resulta, could report only one selection of the aged, the han-
abortion-related death following dicapped, and any others who are
the initial cut-off of Medicaid simply "unwanted," becomes
funding of abortions by the 1977 both tolerated by society and
Hyde Amendment. After a four- mandated by the government.
year (1975-1979) study on the ef- If we in an intellectually and.
fects of a Hyde-type amendment culturally advantaged city such
restricting tax funding for elec- as Ann Arbor cannot foresee the
tive abortions in the state of dire consequences of the abortion
Texas, the pro-abortion Center syndrome and take immediate
for Disease Control concluded: steps to correct it com-
passionately, then we have little
In Texas, pregnant, low- hope for the Brave New World of
income women who do not the survivors.
have Federal or State funds
for abortion do not appear to
be resorting o ntea r o The authors of this article are
bersrigto illegal abor- C Chairwomen of Right To
tions to terminate unwanted Co-hir omen of RahtTo
pregnancies. These findings Life- of Washtenaw
are consistent with thCeny.
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