European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 7, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday july 7,1990 columns Ellen Goodman sown its been just Over a year since an unruly crowd of journalists and advocates camped out on the supreme court Steps like political groupies on a hotly contested election Day it was the morning of july 2, 1989, when the votes were announced in the Webster Case and the country Learned that the right to abortion had just barely survived. Once the 86 pages of opinion were deciphered and the sound bites digested the. Damage was assessed. In Roe is. Wade the court had said that the right to decide belonged by and Large to the woman. But now in Webster they ruled that the right belonged increasingly to the politicians. In Roe the court struck Down state limits on abortion. But in Webster the court invited the states to make limits. In 1973, the court had defended individual rights. In 1989, it had become the defender of states rights. On that summer Day it was said that in the Wake of Webster every election would now be a referendum on abortion. It was said that Law by Law state by state the right to abortion could be shaved away. Indeed abortion could remain Legal and become impossible. A year later the predictions of a prolonged and bitter struggle seem if anything too mild. An understatement. On every front a the courts the state Legislatures electoral politics clinics doctors a we have witnessed 12 months of intense and Public clashes Over this private dilemma. For abortions rights activists As Kate Michelman of the National abortion rights action league says a it has been the Best of years and the worst of a year in which the pro life and pro Choice strengths have virtually changed place. Pro Choice forces have found a voice in electoral politics pro life forces have found a defender in the Broder in the supreme court itself closed off this anniversary by allowing states to erect greater barriers to minors seeking abortions. In parental notification cases four of the justices again signalled their willingness or eagerness to overturn Roe. Add an ambivalent Sandra Day of Connor to that quartet and a majority has now encouraged state Legislatures to draw further restrictions around abortion. The states meanwhile have already been bombarded with abortion Bills. One state Connecticut passed pro Choice legislation that protects Roe. But some 350 Laws restricting abortion have been introduced in other state houses. Only four passed but it does no to take Many to Chip away a right. Last week Louisiana capped off this year by passing a Law that in the words of its sponsor a flies in the face of Roe is. it would restrict abortion for every reason a rape incest fetal deformity except the the Mother. Only the veto of the governor May prevent the state from punishing doctors with 10 years imprisonment. And Only a change in the political climate May. Have assured such a veto. The one thing that Hasni to changed is opinion. In polls americans still overwhelming believe that abortion choices Are Best made by the woman. But the Webster decision catalysed those opinions and turned them into votes in elections from Virginia to California. This May be the year pro Choice activists catch up to their opponents. Indeed the abortion Issue has engaged a disinterested generation of Young americans. But in the most private Arena the 1.6 million women who had abortions last year Are facing hurdles that rarely make their Way onto a political Agenda. Access the real life availability of abortion is another casualty of controversy. The Alan Guttmacher Institute last week reported that even before Webster fewer doctors and hospitals were providing abortions. In Rural areas the number of providers has been halved since 1977. Since Webster Only one physician in South Dakota still performs abortions. And despite the american medical associations endorsement last week of testing for re 486, we Are a Long Way from having the Early and private abortion Pill that is available in Europe. So this is a snapshot of year one after Webster. As Kate Michelman looks at the picture she says a while the roads go untended the homeless go a housed the schools unimproved we Are spending countless hours and resources debating abortion a the question that was once settled a who decides whether a woman can have an abortion a is increasingly up for grabs. Personal politics is playing out in the courts the Legislatures the elections. The anxiety of that morning in july 1989 has now become an every month every week event in the chaos of the Post Webster Era. C Boson Globe not All Young people turned off on everything the older the nation gets the More we seem perplexed by our Young people. As we Mark the 214th anniversary of the declaration of Independence the times Mirror Center for the people and the press has issued a report saying that today a 18 to 30-year-Olds know less care less and vote less than any previous generation. The authors term this a the age of indifference a adding that a the ultimate irony is that the information age has spawned such an uninformed and uninvolved population Quot this is not the first time we have been Given this message. Last november people for the american Way released a study by pollster Peter d. Hart focusing on 15 to 24-Ycar-ods, that found they were a turned off by politics and tuning out on citizen asked to describe a Good citizen few of those Hart interviewed suggested any civic involvement. Only 12 percent even mentioned voting As part of the definition. Their teachers in a parallel poll agreed by a 2-1 margin that today a High school students have less interest in Public affairs than their counterparts from the previous decade. The consistency of these studies findings clearly sends a warning signal about the failure of us older generation americans to Imparl to our children the importance Many of us feel about the obligations and rewards of involvement in the Community and nation. But these studies done to capture All of the american reality either As i was reminded this Spring when i listened to the leaders of some of the major youth organizations meeting under the auspices of the Council for the advancement of citizenship. Julian Dyke of the boy scouts of America for example said that membership in the scouts has grown every year for the last 10 years reaching 4.3 million a one third higher than it was in 1980. So has emphasis on Community service. Last year he said a a scouting for food program in which scouts went door to door in their own communities saw 4 million scouts collect 72 million food items for distribution locally to homeless and needy people. Others at the table contributed examples of Volunteer youth programs based m schools churches and other Community organizations that have enlisted thousands of teens and even younger children in projects tackling civic needs. A when you give them an Opportunity they respond a said Charles Tampio vice president of close up foundation which runs excellent Washington seminars for High schooners. A the key is for parents and teachers to realize that school is not preparation for citizenship but rather that students Are the freedoms foundation in Valley forge promotes a a Bill of responsibilities that is the Active counterpart to the Bill of rights. Their message said its director of youth programs d. Susan Wallace is that a participatory citizenship is the Price of Kathleen f. Kirby of the constitutional rights foundation said its programs in East los Angeles have demonstrated that a the kids Volunteer activities Are the Best Way to get the parents involved. The youngsters work on projects to help elderly people and newly arrived immigrants a and they feel so Good about it their families often a adopt those but youth programs require adult leadership. Dyke the boy scouts director of Public affairs and girl scouts president Betty f. Pillsbury said that despite the increasing number of families where both parents work they have no shortage of people willing to Lead troops. Between them the two organizations now have almost 2 million adult volunteers. True they have had to move with the times. The boy scouts put training materials for scoutmaster on Vars that can be watched at Home and audio cassettes that can be played during car commutes. The girl scouts often Divide troop leadership among four working women with each taking responsibility for one meeting or saturday Outing a month. And the programs also have moved with the times. Dyke sent me the 1990 edition of the boy scout handbook. It is a far cry from the one i carried in my Knapsack almost 50 years ago. Sure there Are still chapters on knot tying and identifying Trees by their leaves. But upfront is a parents guide to the serious problems of child abuse and drug abuse. And you can now win Merit badges not just for Archery and Woodwork but for studies of american business labor and diverse cultures for citizenship in the Community the nation and the world for consumer skills environmental projects and Handicap awareness in a pamphlet a relating traditional values to immediate Community needs a Ben h. Love the chief scout executive wrote a we must wholeheartedly accept our responsibility to protect the weak the needy and the destitute. It is not a time to preach ideology but a time to thwart the oppression brought about by illiteracy hunger unemployment child abuse and drug the scouts have programs going in All five areas. Its a sign that whatever the statistics say not All Young people have Given up on making this a better country. C the Washington Post a the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government
