Reinstatement of policy restricts rights

The ink is barely dry on the history books, and Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris has barely finished wiping that gloating smile off her face. TV news shows are still discussing Laura Bush’s wardrobe and President George W. Bush has already done something stupid.

According to The Washington Post, Bush said Monday he will reinstate the so-called Mexico City policy, a ban that blocks U.S. funds to international family-planning groups that offer abortion and abortion counseling.

The policy originated in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan announced the ban at a population conference in Mexico City. President Bill Clinton lifted the ban two days after he took office in 1993. One of Bush’s first acts as president (besides, of course, cameos at all the important inaugural balls), was the announcement of the possible policy change Monday — the 28th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Because of the anniversary, abortion-rights opponents converged upon Washington to protest the decision. In a statement issued to the protesters, Bush said, “We share a great goal: to work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law. We know this will not come easily, or all at once.”

It’s amazing how fast his game of “How can I win your vote?” changed to “How can I stomp out the rights of women all around the world, all at once?”

Bush nominated two outspoken abortion-rights opponents to his Cabinet: former Sen. John Ashcroft for attorney general and Tommy Thompson for secretary of health and human services. Ashcroft, who opposes birth control and abortions that do not take place to save the mother’s life, said he would deny the “morning-after pill” to a woman who had been raped and would require a young girl, pregnant because of incest, to bear the child.

Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion Rights Action League, expressed concern about Bush’s strong opposition to abortion.

“He certainly has shed his cloak of moderation,” she said. “Anyone who voted for him thinking he was going to be passive on a woman’s right to choose is going to be sorely mistaken.”

Ouch. Ouch to the women who voted for a man who — 48 hours after vowing to uphold the Constitution — took funding away from international abortion counseling centers. Surely it hurts these women to know this. Surely these women wish they could take their votes back. Surely they didn’t mean to vote for a man who thinks he knows best when it comes to a woman’s health and body.

In an Associated Press report Monday, press secretary Ari Fleischer refused to speculate on a final decision to reverse the Clinton administration’s position on the policy.

“The president does not support using taxpayer funds to provide abortions,” Fleischer said.

But what exactly does the president support? Don’t we also use taxpayer funds to pay for state executions? According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Bush has let 178 humans die at public expense since he took office as Texas governor in 1995. Where exactly does he draw the line?

Does he support babies who are abandoned when their mothers give birth to them in crack houses? Does he support women who get pregnant after their fathers rape them?

Would he support his daughters if they came home pregnant?

More than likely, he’ll say he supports them long enough to get their vote. Then he’ll trade in their crack house for his White House and forget what it’s like to be a person who doesn’t have everything handed to him on a silver platter.

The president has the power to limit women’s rights in countries he doesn’t even represent. With this in mind, how much is he willing to restrict American women’s rights? This is neither his duty nor his right.

The ink may be dry on his inauguration coverage, but surely his pen will run out in 2004. And then maybe Harris will lose that smirk.

Managing Editor Laura Head is a senior news-editorial journalism major from Shreveport, La.
She can be reached at (l.a.head@student.tcu.edu).

Editorial policy: The content of the Opinion page does not necessarily represent the views of Texas Christian University. Unsigned editorials represent the view of the TCU Daily Skiff editorial board. Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

Letters to the editor: The Skiff welcomes letters to the editor for publication. Letters must be typed, double-spaced, signed and limited to 250 words. To submit a letter, bring it to the Skiff, Moudy 291S; mail it to TCU Box 298050; e-mail it to skiffletters@tcu.edu or fax it to 257-7133. Letters must include the author’s classification, major and phone number. The Skiff reserves the right to edit or reject letters for style, taste and size restrictions.