Other Campuses: Waning women's rights

(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' impending confirmation hearings have citizens nationwide on high alert. It is speculated that Roberts' appointment could lead to the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case allowing women to seek abortions within the United States.

Meanwhile, in a society founded upon the principle of choice, undercurrents are already in motion to eliminate all options to both prevent and end unwanted pregnancies.

Under a new state law that went into effect Sept. 1, doctors performing abortions on minors without parental consent could theoretically be tried for capital murder, an offense punishable by death.

Never mind the fact that Texas has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in the country. A whopping 22,911 pregnancies among 13- to 17-year-olds were reported in 2003, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, a statistic that represents roughly 3 percent of that population.

Of those pregnancies, 15.5 percent ended in abortion, while 83 percent resulted in live births. The most alarming side effect of this is less than one-third of teenagers nationwide who give birth prior to age 18 finish high school, rendering them more or less incapable of supporting themselves and their children.

According to Victor Strasburger, an expert on adolescent behavior at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, the United States has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country because of fallacies in sexual education programs.

"Until Americans get over their hysteria about giving young people access to birth control, we will continue to have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Western world. It's really that simple,"" he wrote in a published study.

The one window of light was shut indefinitely last Friday when Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester M. Crawford announced that the agency will put off the decision of whether or not to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception to adult women.

Crawford cited "unique regulatory problems," despite his promise upon taking office that a decision would be made by Sept. 1.

The resignation of Susan Wood, director of the FDA's Office of Women's Health, on Wednesday should be a flashing yellow light to Crawford and others calling the shots at the FDA.

"I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled," wrote Wood, who was also assistant commissioner for women's health, in her resignation e-mail.

Widespread availability of Plan B, which has an 89-percent effectiveness rate in preventing pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, would go a long way toward reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. The FDA and many reputable medical associations say Plan B prevents a pregnancy rather than ends one.

In keeping with this logic, we should all close our eyes tightly and pray for Americans to stop having sex, an overrated animal act only enjoyed by the uneducated masses.

Maybe Planned Parenthood could just start handing out Bibles to women seeking help.

Staff Editorial

Daily Texan (U. Texas)