Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / April 9, 2004, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
APRIL 9, 2004 GREENSBORO, NC New laws steal women's freedom of choice Meredith Veto Staff Writer Roe v. Wade has never been so dangerously challenged as it has in recent weeks. Two laws signed by President Bush, the Partial- Birth Abortion Ban Act and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, treat women as though they are casual onlookers of their own pregnancies. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, signed by Bush in November, legislates against all second-trimester abor tions. According to the gov ernment, the law ends an "inhumane" practice that causes pain to the fetus —the procedure punctures a fetus's skull outside of the womb in order to remove it safely. Testifying in opposition to the law are several distin guished doctors, who unani mously state that there is no harm to the fetus and that in most cases it is safer for the Matt Geiger: inner change is inevitable Matthew Geiger Columnist As the school year winds down, I have come to have a unique per spective on things that comes from being a senior who will (god willing) be graduating this May. As with any experi ence, it is only natural to sit back and reflect on what type of legacy you are as an indi vidual going to leave this campus. Are people going to talk about you or the things you have done during your tenure at Guilford? Probably not, but that's okay. The fact of the matter is that as the years go by, people are leaving, graduating, going insane or many other options that involve finding oneself. mother to abort than to contin ue the pregnancy. Bush's tendency to ignore the opinions of knowledge able medical professionals is threatening women's health, not only with abortion issues. By funding "abstinence only" education, which is found by numerous studies to be less than effective, it's possible that Bush is creating the same problem that he is attempting to outlaw. The details of partial-birth abortion may be gruesome, but it's clear that medical pro fessionals find no indication that the fetus experiences pain. In fact, New York Dr. Amos Grunebaum testified that he "would go to prison for doing a procedure I consider safer." Women who have abortions are often demonized, called lazy for undergoing a proce dure that could have been prevented. But this is one of the largest misconceptions Good work is forgotten, mem orable nights trickle away from the memories and peo ple in general are not remem bered. One of my first real vivid memories at Guilford was dur ing CHAOS and there was some event going on the lawn outside of New Garden Hall; from a distance I saw some thing that would change my future at Guilford forever. Far off on the lawn, I saw a rather large man wearing a yarmulke and being Jewish. I felt a desire to introduce myself. That man's name was Mike Zarkin and he asked the magic question, "Do you want to be involved in Hillel." I said yes, and the rest, as they say, is history. But the point of my article is not so much reflection; it is FORUM about partial-birth abortion. Most women have these abortions because the fetus has abnormalities and it is safer to remove it than to give birth. Grunebaum emphasized that the majority of women who undergo the procedure in the second trimester of their pregnancies "really, really, really wanted to have a baby." This particular abortion pro cedure also helps preserve the fetus as intact as possible. "It is the same as any baby dying," Grunebaum said. "People want to hold the fetus." This has therapeutic effects for the woman —stud- ies show that women grieve less after a failed pregnancy if they get to see the fetus. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, signed April 1, was inspired by the Laci Peterson case. The law says that a person who commits violence against a pregnant woman will be charged with change and understanding with us is ourselves. When change. Over the course of we first came to college we the past four years I have had changed throughout high changed, hopefully for the school and now as we leave, better. Ido not want to speak we are changed college stu for the dents, rest of my "Right Or Wrong, his- We take that class- .j , , ■ change with us, mates, tory judges by what we take whom probably we do and what we :L ar w e e r, a fair choose not to do." become in the assump- future into the tion to ~ Matt Geiger real world and make that = that my friends, most of them have changed is a very scary thought, too I want to close this by saying The message I want to send that when I look back at the out to all of you today is that kind of person I was starting as soon as I and my class- Guilford, lam amazed that I mates graduate, Hillel, The have, quite frankly, lasted this Guilfordian, and all the other long. I feel that by being open organizations we have been to changes and understand active with on campus, stay ing that improvement and on campus. What we take alterations to myself can WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM two separate crimes, one for the mother and one for the fetus. There is no doubt that all legislators consider violence toward pregnant women a heinous crime. But because the law made specific stipula tions giving rights to a fetus, no matter what stage of development, it was not sole ly aimed at increasing punish ment for such acts of vio lence. If that were the legisla tors' intent, they might have passed an amendment intro duced by California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, which states that defendants can be charged with the offense of harming a fetus without grant ing rights to the fetus itself. "Violence against women, including pregnant women, is a significant problem in America, one that should be addressed," said Gloria Feldt, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "This bill does noth PAGE 3 ing but shift the focus away from real solutions by under mining women's health and reproductive freedoms." By giving rights to the fetus, the law is in direct conflict with Roe v. Wade. If killing a fetus is murder, according to the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, then so is abortion. What's more, the law could potentially be used to prose cute a woman who harms or kills her fetus unknowingly. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act is being challenged simultaneously in three courts: San Francisco, New York and Lincoln, Nebraska. If you feel that you are unable to sit passively while the courts debate, join other Guilford students in the March for Women's Lives on April 25 in Washington, D.C., to sup port women's rights before they have vanished altogeth er. Call (336) 399-7168 for more information. almost always be helpful, being modestly successful at Guilford like I have, was a lit tle bit easier. Change however is not just limited to our own person. We will go out into this world and see changes that we feel need to be made so that our world can be a better place to live in. I say this: work towards change, fight for progress. We need to change as the earth changes around us, and by doing so chances for success are high. Right or wrong, history judges by what we do and what we choose not to do. Hopefully, when we sit back and reflect upon our life expe riences, what will remain of us are love and all the good we have done to the world around us.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 9, 2004, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75