4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, July 2 1997 Edited and managed by ERIN MARSH JACK SCHILLACI students at the yoMcgn7Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor University of Michigan21 ItI Itt '~ I' ,,ioi,'ti' odiiiiiddio'ti 'itii piio L ntess otherwise not, re<. uneed editorials if et the Opinion, a to 420 Maynard Street ti7ajoritiy 0 ntaiii tiiiuoiiitf aoard Alt Oth rtr tit s, letererr Ann Arbor, MI 48109 corrols> ono nes'sarii '('fle' i/te opinion,( o The Michuigan, uli H ome to medical students, patients and doctors, the University Medical Center is the hub for medical care in Washtenaw County. Like many medical institutions, the center is in the process of significant budget cutbacks to make itself more attractive to managed care compa- nies. Part of the cutbacks come by way of staff wage reductions. In negotiating a contract with the Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1583 - representing 2,400 University employees - the University offered union members an unbalanced contract that cuts compensation to hospital workers but maintains it for the rest of the University's workforce. The University should slow the rate at which it reduces the center's budget and offer employees a fair compensation package. Medical Center administrators plan to cut $200 million from the institution's $1 billion annual budget in three years - a lofty goal at best. Only 1,000 of AFSCME's members are hospital employ- B argaining dp U' contract offer is unfair to employees ees - the rest work on other parts of cam- pus. The contract offered by the University would not grant hospital work- ers a raise in its first year and would end seniority bonuses for them. In contrast, workers on other parts of campus under the contract would keep both perks. The dual nature of the contract could create a divide among AFSCME's members. Unions play an important role in support- ing the University's employees - the administration should not attempt to cre- ate dissent among the ranks. The University's underhanded dealing with the union shows that administrators have put the importance of budget reductions before their employees - AFSCME was correct in refusing the contract and should insist that the University remove the con- tractual inequity. As the largest medical facility in the area, the University Medical Center must commit itself to providing the best medical care possible. Its' role as an educational institution is also vital to support the University's quality. However, the center's downsizing efforts threaten to reduce its ability to maintain quality. The administra- tion's plan leaves the Ann Arbor communi- ty a mere three years to realign its health- care system dependencies --- such a short period of time could result in patients not receiving the health care that they need if replacement services are not available at other medical institutions. The rapid change in the number of the center's ser- vices poses a serious risk to the communi- ty -- slowing the budget reduction would allow the community time to catch up. The hospital administrators' downsi: ing plan is already behind schedul Acting Medical Center chief Larry Warre recently announced that $19 million cuts planned for this year are alreado hold. Due to AFSCME's rejection of tI University's contract, additional fun( may not be removed from the budget. TI University should take the hint ar rearrange the downsizing schedule to I more realistic. The University's action threatens alienate Medical Center staff. Employe deserve fair treatment in contractu agreements. The University's offer t AFSCME's members is ridiculous expects hospital employees to accept smaller compensation package simp because they work for section of tI University that needs to trim financial fa The center should re-evaluate the cons quences of its rush to drop money from tI budget and ensure that the community ready for the change. Open highway CDA violated First Amendment M ore than a year ago, the U.S. Playboy or looking on the Internet for Congress passed the pornography. However, many Internet web Telecommunications Act of 1996, rewrit- sites require a credit card or additional ing many of the nation's communication identification before allowing users entry laws. Tacked to this bill was a section to their systems. In contrast, there is no called the Communications Decency safeguard on late-night cable television, Act, which placed bans on pornography and there will always be the friend who transmitted over the Internet and set smeaks away a Penthouse magazine, yet penalties for those convicted of distribut- most Internet sites work to block access by ing "indecent" sexual material to minors. minors. Thursday, in a largely applauded unani- Concerned parents have many options mous decision in the case Reno v. the available to them to block their children American Civil Liberties Union, the from pornography's exposure. Many com- Supreme Court declared the act uncon- puter programs, such as Net Nanny, are stitutional, allowing proponents of free available that can restrict access to porno- speech to breathe - and surf the Internet graphic computer sites. Such programs - freely.can be directed to block access to certain Supporters of the Communications sites or prevent children from accessing Decency Act argue that the Internet's the web at all. In addition, many online content is not "speech" and therefore services offer built-in restrictions that does not fall under the First Amendment's allow parents to block what their child can guise. Yet when it was written that do while the computer is running. There "Congress shall make 'no law abridging are ample technological mechanisms the freedom of speech," founders certain- available to help parents keep pornogra- ly did not comprehend such communica- phy out of the hands of children - cen- tion mediums as the Internet. The soring all "indecent" electronic traffic is Constitution is meant to be a flexible doc- excessive and violates adults' right to ument - the Supreme Court made the communicate. right decision by deeming the act uncon- The Internet has become a remarkable stitutional. medium for the transfer of thoughts, the. Other proponents of the act deemed it presentation of images and the prolifera- necessary to protect children from viewing tion of educational resources. Online, peo- pornography on the Internet. Considering ple have the freedom to express them- that there are thousands of pornographic selves in a way society does not always World Wide Web sites, this is a legitimate allow. The shy, disabled, elderly and peo- concern. While shielding children from ple of every color and creed can have a pornography is a good goal, the act's voice on the Internet. If "indecent" sites pathos restricted adults' ability to commu- were to be censored, it would pose a threat nicate. Impeding everyone's rights is no to the freedom of all Internet users. The way to solve a problem. Supreme Court should be applauded for Children act out curiosity about sex in its wise decision proving that censorship is many ways' - whether it is reading' 'truly un-American. The doctor is out State must not enact assisted suicide ban T homas Jefferson said certain truths were self-evident - namely, that all people were created equal and have certain inalienable rights: "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." But what should be done when these rights conflict with one another? In the matter of assisted suicide, the traditional ideas about preservation of life conflict directly with the pursuit of happiness, or rather, with ending an indi- vidual's suffering. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld bans in Washington and New York states that pro- hibited doctor-assisted suicide. It is an inherent right for people to be able to gov- ern the conditions of their lives - and their deaths. Bans on assisted suicide restrict that right - the court's decision violates terminally-ill patients' rights to end their lives in a humane manner. The majority opinion in the case of Washington v. Glucksberg, penned by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, said the issue at hand was "whether the protec- tions of the due process clause include a right to commit suicide with another's assistance." Rehnquist rephrased the assertion made by the plaintiffs in the case with the Washington statute - which prohibits "aiding another person to attempt suicide" - in mind. Rehnquist and the rest of the court addressed the existence of a constitutional right to com- mit suicide, "which itself includes a right to assistance in doing so," as it applies to everyone, not just to those mentally com- petent and terminally ill. Terminally -ill patients should have the right to relieve themselves from suffering if they are in possession of their faculties and can make a thoroughly investigated decision. In addition, they should have access to a medically sound and safe method doing so - Rehnquist's opinion is i error, as it could cause patients to suff excessively. The court's decision stipulated th states may enact bans on assisted sui ' Many states already have such a ba i place that will now block their resident rights. However, Michigan does not y have a ban in place - though some inte pret that the murder statute implies assis ed suicide's illegality. The state legisla ture should not make a knee-jerk reactio to the court's decision by immediatel imposing a ban. Instead, it should care fully analyze the situation and ma well thought-out decision -ens that citizens' right to seek a doctor' assistance in the decision to take their lif is preserved. The court found "legitimate govern ment interests" to the ban in Washington The preservation of life and the protection from exploitation and abuse of more vul nerable groups in society are important How and why an individual should valu< life should not be judged - instead ths decision remain with the patient, n h government. The court's decision will have far reaching effects. An all-out ban on assist ed suicide in Michigan would violate resi dents' rights. Popular opinion polls indi cate that 57 percent of the population feel that assisted suicide should be legal - possibly making any bans' implementatior difficult. If the prohibition of alcohol ir the 1920s showed anything, it was a unpopular laws can be difficult to up ld The state should not implement a ban or assisted suicide and allow individuals t maintain control of their lives.