The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCV, No. 40-S
95 Years of Editorial Freedom
Managed and Edited by Students at
The University of Michigan
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the
Daily Editorial Board

OPINION
Saturday, July 27, 1985 Pag
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No-win situation
N THE SEEMINGLY endless debate over abortion, one
thing is clear: neither side can ever "win," because the
question of when life begins is mostly a matter of
definition. In its historic Roe vs. Wade decision of 1973, the
Supreme Court ruled that women have a fundamental
right to an abortion because people have a right to control
their bodies.
® The Justice Department recently filed a brief
challenging that ruling, saying that the right to an abortion
is not "fundamental" - like the constitutional right to
freedom of speech - and therefore should be regulated by
the states. But actually, leaving the abortion issue up to
the states would effectively ban abortions in some states.
The technical issue in the case is whether two states,
Illinois and Pennsylvania, should be allowed to impede ac-
cess to abortions. The real issue, however, is whether
abortion is murder. We say no.
It doesn't matter what arguments the supporters and
opponents of Roe vs. Wade use; there is always a counter-
argument that is just as logical. For instance, right-to-
lifers say that life begins at conception, and therefore
abortion is tantamount to murder. But the line of
argument used in films like Silent Scream, which purports
to prove that fetuses are alive and feel pain, merely prey
on emotions.
After that film came out, many doctors condemned it as
a twisted version of "life" in the womb. In addition, the
movie does not by any means show that a fetus is "alive; "
S the question still remains a matter of definition.
Pro -choice advocates argue convincingly that life begins
when a fetus can survive outside the womb.
Right-to-lifers also say that girls or women who have
unwanted pregnancies should give up their child for adop-
tion. That argument is flawed because it is wholly
unrealistic to expect someone who has carried a child for
nine months to give it up, even if she cannot support it
economically or emotionally.
Anti-abortionists contend that women are using abortion
as birth control, and in some instances they are correct. In
many cases, however, girls or women have unwanted
pregnancies because they weren't informed about or
didn't have access to birth control. And the same people
who oppose abortion also oppose sex education for
teenagers because it might be construed as condoning pre-
marital sex. Numerous studies have shown that this is
simply untrue - people have sex regardless of whether
they know about birth control.
The argument keeps going around in circles. If the
Supreme Court follows the advice- of the Justice
Department brief, the circle won't be broken. Instead, it
will be passed on to 50 fickle legislatures - not a satisfac-
tory solution to either side.

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Abortion: A different perspective

I

By Andrew Eriksen
The Justice department has recen-
tly asked the Supreme Court to
overrule the 1973 ruling of Roe vs.
Wade. This ruling established a con-
stitutional right to an abortion. The
Court ruled that a woman's decision
to end a pregnancy is based, in part,
on the right of privacy. Many obser-
vers see the move by the Justice
department as a political maneuver
by the Reagan administration to
fulfill one of Reagan's campaign
promises. This observation is
probably correct.
Very few social issues spark as
much controversy as abortion.
Both sides to the issue of abortion
have organized very vocal and active
campaigns. Some of the groups have
focused on the issue of when life
begins, others have focused on the
role of the rights of the individual.
But this issue is too important to be
tossed around as a political football.
The decision as to whether an abor-
tion is morally right or wrong has
serious ramifications for the
framework of society.
The issue of abortion can not be
limited to a women's right to privacy.
A woman does have a "right" to

decide what she wants to do with her pleasure and satisfaction, the san-
body, but that in itself does not make ctity of sexual intercourse has been
that decision morally correct. As an lost. Sexual intercourse offers a man
extreme example, a person does have and a woman a chance to take part in
a "right" to commit suicide, but as a the creation of another human being.
society, we have found this to be im- The procreative purposes of sexual
moral and a terrible waste of human intercourse are often lost in the
life. People who want to kill them- myriad of egotistical and selfish con-
selves are generally troubled cerns of position, location, the
emotionally and are pleading for our weather and the time of day.
help. It seems that the deisre to have Society needs to learn to treat the
an abortion is also a call for help, but act of sexual intercourse with the
society has failed to provide assistan- dignity and respect it deserves.
ce. As the number of abortions con-
The abortion debate also can not be tinues to increase each year in the
focused on whether the fetus is alive United States, from 900,000 in 1974 to
or not and at what point. The 1.6 million in 1982, the urgency of
argument will eventually become changing society's attitudes in-
moot as medical technology advan- creases too.
ces. Fetuses will become more viable This problem will not be settled by a
at earlier and earlier stages of a court decision or a legislature's ac-
pregnancy. tion. Only after careful examination
Outlawing abortions is not going to of our role in the course of humanity,
solve the problem, but neither is the without the egotistical concerns, will
freedom to allow abortions. an answer be found.
The basic problem lies within Overall, if society's attitude toward
society's attitude toward sexual in- sexual intercourse remains self-
tercourse. centered and strictly pleasure-
The expression of love through seeking, we will all lose the battle in
sexual intercourse is a very beautiful the end.
and wonderful thing within the con- -- - - - - --
text of a long-term commitment (i.e., Eriksen is the Summer Daily
marriage). But as society has placed Opinion editor.
more and more emphasis on personalr

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