Contact Us

Advertising

Comics

Crossword

The Arizona Daily Wildcat Online

Catcalls

Policebeat

Search

Archives

News Sports Opinions Arts Classifieds

Wednesday May 1, 2001

Reader Survey
Crazy Town Photos
Basketball site
Tucson Riots
Ice T Photos

 

PoliceBeat
Catcalls
Restaurant and Bar Guide
Daily Wildcat Alumni Site

 

Student KAMP Radio and TV 3

Letters to the editor

Life's value overlooked

Dear friends, I wish to share with you a little of what I know concerning the issue of abortion. First of all, I am neither a conservative or a liberal, I am simply an advocate of life whether it is the life of an innocent child or the life of a person on death row. My concern is the attitude of many people such as that of Cory Spiller when he wrote that we should, "Create as much freedom for as many people as possible." Even though we live in a democratic country, the founding fathers even knew that freedom has its limits. Freedom is limited when the execution of that freedom interferes with the rights of others. In this case, the freedom to choose an abortion interferes with the rights of the newly formed individual in the womb. If freedom was not limited in this nation, then people would be free to kill, steal and do all sorts of wrong doings without legal consequences. Therefore, no, we should not have the freedom to abort a child, anymore than we should have the freedom to murder our neighbor.

With regard to women's control over their own bodies as so many argue, I would like us to consider what the purpose of reproduction is. Yes, women, you do have control over your own bodies, however, the purpose of reproduction is to create an entirely new being with its own unique characteristics and its own rights which no one must violate. The fetus in the womb is an individual because it can move out of its own free will. It can suck its thumb, it feeds and it excretes its own wastes. It has its own heart and brain. I've even seen, through a video of a sonogram, a baby screaming as it sensed the tools of an abortionist approaching it. What we are dealing with is the death of tiny individuals with no voice of their own to defend themselves. I humbly wish to be a voice for the voiceless. The rights of all must be protected, especially those individuals powerless to defend themselves.

Please consider the value of life. No matter what condition a child is born into, it is a wanted child by countless people waiting to adopt them. Some children born in the worst scenarios grow to be famous. One mother bore a blind baby, then two deaf babies, then a baby with TB and got pregnant with a fifth child. Instead of giving up, she gave birth to the fifth child and he grew to become the famous Beethoven. Life is so precious.

Emilio Chapa

aerospace engineering junior

Free market benefits all

In regard to Kathleen Van Vlack's editorial, and everyone else that seems to think that free markets are harming people, you are in one word - wrong. See for you, money is a finite thing. You think that because someone is making money, someone else must be worse off because of it. You seem to be under the impression that if one person is rich, another must be poor. This flies in the face of basic logic, though. If that were true, then where did all the wealth of the world come from? Did we take it from someone? It wasn't here at the beginning of time was it? No, it certainly wasn't. The phenomenon that has lead to wealth is basic economic development. Gains from trade is a simple equation that anyone can learn in Economics 101. It shows how even if one country is better at producing everything than another country, both countries can still benefit from free trade. Everyone wins! Pick up an econ book, and look up gains from trade. I beg of you. Fact is, Nike importing shoes from Third World countries is the best thing to happen to them in decades. Because of this, countries like Honduras have experienced economic booms, with various factories being set up all over the place.

When workers develop skills, and employers develop capital, those workers command higher wages. If they don't get it, they can easily work in another factory that will pay them according to productivity. When groups like the SAS create programs that force employers to pay them above productivity levels, they put those factories out of business, and most of the people are forced to go back into agriculture where they make a fifth of the money, and work longer, harder hours. Most girls turn to prostitution just to survive.

This is the reality of the situation. If you think that since these factories are shut down, kids are free to play and go to school, you are dreaming. A lot of them starve to death, and a lot them sell their bodies for money so younger brothers and sisters don't die. These countries are held back by government legislation, groups like the SAS, and much of the red tape that Latin American governments create which make it harder for workers to work freely in a free market. If you truly and sincerely care about these people in Latin America and other Third World countries, the free market is the best thing for them, and anyone else for that matter.

Kevin Durkin

business sophomore

Different world, different rules

Seventy-seven percent of anti-choicers are men. One-hundred percent of

these men will never be pregnant, it is time for that to change.

If men could give birth...

- Well-funded OB/GYN research would have made childbirth completely painless, and all prenatal care would be covered by health insurance, or it would be free.

- Father's Day would be a week-long celebration where all dads get a paid vacation.

- Public schools would be the best in the world, and all higher education

would be free.

- Fathers would not be shunned for choosing to smoke, drink or consume

drugs, but instead would receive federally funded assistance to kick their habits. For that matter, tobacco companies would go out of business and alcoholism and drug addiction would be passˇ.

- Potential employers would never ask, "Are you planning on having kids?"

- There would be huge, free child care facilities in every workplace.

- There would be paid paternity leave, and it would last as long as the man needed to raise his kid.

- High schools would have day care facilities and special programs to help "unwed fathers."

- Comprehensive sex education would be taught in every school.

- "Deadbeat mothers" would be tracked down and have child support taken from their pay at work, or if they can't pay, they will be jailed.

- While giving birth, men of color and working class would be pressured into having vasectomies by delivering doctors.

- Welfare would be reformed to actually help welfare fathers get out of the cycle of poverty.

- Men and children would NOT be amongst the poorest people in the United States.

- Tons of government money would be funneled into development of safe, effective and easy to use contraceptive methods.

- Reproductive health clinics would pop up on every corner, and men could just stop by and pick up free birth control.

- Abortion would be safe, legal and accessible to all men AND abortion would not be legislated because it would be viewed as a private issue and an inalienable human right.

- No man would be expected to have an unwanted child, especially if it would potentially interfere with his career.

The Conscious Raising (C.R.) Collective

Julie Fitch, Stefanie Goebel, Lydia Hallay, April Huff, Sindie Kennedy,

Juliana Zuccaro