”February 2, 1973

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Chess tan Jerry Zwecker prepares to advance a pawn last Sunday during
the weekly Grinnell Chess Club meeting.

 

The Iconoclast

 

 

 

by Gregg banner .

The Supreme Court may have leg»
alized abortion, but the issue is by
no means closed, and unless its
advocates are prepared with the
solid, rational arguments, they’re
going to lose their case ‘

The abortion issue, despite all the
debate in recent years, is a Sims
pie question. Unlortunately,lwhile
those who oppose abortion are at
tacking it in principle, the propane
ents of abortion oller a weak, it
not self-defeating, defense: While
an extensive examination of the is»
sue is in order, l will only deal
with one problem in the ,way of
permanent legal abortions--the adr
vocates of abortion.

There are several, stock argu-
ments used by pro-abortion peo—
ple. If you ever attend a discussion
on the subject, note how they are
used, like variations on a theme.
The tirst is the “I’m only thinking
of him” argulnentl This is where
it’s said that if the unwanted baby
is allowed to be brought up in an
unhappy home. his lile will be mis-
erable, therefore to spare ‘ in the
pain....The second argument is the
"I know this girl" story, about the
horrors of the illegal butcher abor—
tionlst. The third argument goe .
“It's O.K. to abort the first 26
weeks of pregnancy because the
fetus isn’t viable yet,” And lastly
there are those who simply claim
--“it’s a woman’s right to her own
body",

The lirst argument, although very
prevelant, is not only very often
factually false but, even if‘the kid
will grow up in an unhappy home,
so what? To accept this argument
one would have to believe that it
is worse to live in an unhappy home
than to have never lived‘at all.

The second argument simply says
that Since the law is being broken

Compares Rip-Offs, Thoughtless Waste

by Fran Cutler

Each time I reach for a paper
napkin in the mod line, my eco-
conscience gives me a slight nude
ge and reminds me that this naps
kin represents a needless waste
of paper. Yet, alter a very short
pause, I invariably reach again for
the napkin, muttering to myscli
that one small, white paper nap-
kin is only a slight fraction of a
tree and a miniscule part otthe pol-
lution problem. However, even
though my ecorconscience may lose
the initial battle, it never fails to
plague me at the end of each meal.
when I witness the enormous bar—
rel ol discarded paper napkins it
seems that each time I reach for
a paper napkin with the rationalizar
tion that my individual polluting
action is a negligible part of the
current ecological crisis, 1 fail
to realize the cumulative impact
of this action is clearly significant,
Just as Grinnell College has found
that the combined resultotindividual
"student borrowing” has meant that
7700 dollars worth of college owned
property (Le. lounge furniture) is
unaccounted for, the US. has found
that the Cumulative impact of indin
idual industries, who dump refuse

GlASSES
Made and Repaired
in Our Laboratory

Contact Lenses

in the lakes and rivers has resulted
in a national environmental crisis.
It is Important to realize that just
as the missing lounge furniture is
probably not the result of a maiia
theft ring, it is likely that the root
of our national pollution problem

Z7/w Eco—71a

by Fran Cutler

_
does not lie in a well planned eco-

conspiracy. Rather, a major sour—
ce of our pollution problem can be
attributed to the wasteful, thought-
less actions of corporations and in-
dividuals who reiuse to take any my
dividual initiative in solving the pol-
lution problem. still one can take
heart in realizing that ii the mag
nitude of cumulative, individual
carelessness is so enormous, it
lollows that the cumulative impact
of individual ecologically responsi-
ble actions can be equally signifir
cant. So as you return your "hot"

lounge lurniture and refuse to use
paper napkins, do not feel that your
actions are of little consequence.
Realize that your efforts are being
combined inthe accumulation ofpos—
itive individual power.

If you want to increase your in—
dividual efforts to solve the ecolo—
gical crisis, but are unsure as to
what action you should take, consult
the Eccerction Handbook which may
be obtained free of charge in the
post-office or in the LEAP office
(Room 143, Science Building). In ads
ditlon, Grinnellians can combine
their individual efforts with other
ecologically aware individuals by
joining the Sierra Club, PACE. or
ISPIRG. These organizations are
vitally important in that they pro—
vide significant lobbying pressure
in Iowa and Washington, D.Cl for
ecologically sound legislation. The
actions ol the Sierra Club in par
ticular, have been instrumental in
waging the current light for the
preservation of iowa's unique Leda
ges State Park. Student member-
ship fees are nominal.

Try us for your

Valentine Mod Cards
and Candy

Tharp .

anyway, why not make things ease
her and legalize abortion. This,
however, misses the entire point,
and says nothing about abortions
As for the issue of the “viability"
ol the letus at, say, 20 weeks, such
is a medical question andone which,
to the chagrin of the pro-abortion-
ists, seems to be just the opposite
of their contention.

The last argument isn’t even that.
It's the sort of claim which, like
a catchy lyric, is being sung today.
Unlortunately, few ol its perform-
ers are advocates of individual
rights, hence it appears all too
often as an empty cry.

I suspect that a good many peOr
ple really do believe in a woman's
right to her body, and hence aborr
tions, but the leeble argument these
people propose only serves to stren-
gthen their opponents. For example,
one argument againstabortion is that
it is murder, alld that if you can
murder innocent fetuses today

HowiNot To Fight For Abortion

because they’re unwanted, then what
about old people and cripples, etc.
tomorrow? Rather than demonstrate
how the principle of rights could
not lead to such a situation, theprOA
abortion argument of unwanted bah»
ies makes this kind of fear sound
legitimate.

It should be remembered that the
primary purpose of arguments in a
debate is not to reassure onesself,
but to convince one's opponent. in
the debate over abortions, the issue
is a moral one, concerning the axe
lstence or non-existence of a wom-
an's right to kill a fetus. it is a
life or death issue and despite the
often jovial and often militant man-
ner in which it is discussed, it
is an intellectual issue at the root
of which is the question or what
constitutes the “right to life".

However, until the proponents of
abortion can answer that question
it will be a lutile fight, and the
recent court decision a sterile vic-
torv.

Rb'hzili'iiiional Convulsionsi

by Mike Breed

The convolutions of student gov—
ernment never cease to amaze me.
The treasurer's guideline, giving
the treasurer power to dictate po-
licy to the auditor, which passed
so easily (nearly unanimously) a
week ago met with violent death
this week, As with the bylaws of
any organization passage of a mor
tion establishing a new officer re-
quires passage at two consecutive
meetings. Heaven only knows what
cosmic revelation was received by
the house presidents to lead them
to Vote down the measure, but one
is reassured when one realizes that
the final outcome of this issue has
no meaning in the long run anyway.
Which brings me to my main topic
of interest this week. THEY HAVE,
believe it or not, COME UP WITH
A NEW CONSTITUTION. Now,
everybody knows that modifying the
constitution is one of the nevel'end-
ing processes which student gov-
ernment takes great pleasure irorn,

NOW MOVED TO
933 BROAD

Come in to our new
location, formerly
Sumner Photography
and browse around.

but I wonder if a whole new con—
stitution may be overdoing it just
a bit.

Actually, the new one claims to be
just a cleaning up of the old one,
and a superficial inspection of the
documents supports this claim.
However, I foresee several long
evenings of pure ecstasy for the
semanticists who are now hiding
in the woodwork but who will mag-
ically appear when debate begins
on the constitution next Wednesday.
Anyone interested in joining the
orgy should obtain a copy of the new
document from the Student Coordi-
nator’s office.

In the most recent campus memo
SGA announced the date of the elec-
tion for a new president. Anyone
interested should file in the Stun
dent Coordinator’s office. The line
shouldn’t be too long. Thepastthree
or tour presidents have been ad- _
ministrators, willing to sit at the
head or a large bureaucracy and
try to keep the thing from falling
apart. Hopefully someone will em~
erge trim the upcoming election
who is willing to let the structure
collapse under its own weight and
then Will put the pieces back to-
gether in o more coherent order.

SUPPLEMENT

The $118 will publish the se-
cond Literary Supplement of
the year on Friday, March 2.
Members of the Campus com-
munity interested in submitt‘
ing poems, short stories, es-
says, or even artwork, should
place their contributions in the
SltB faculty mailbox or deliver
them to the slab oliice, Forum
M, by 4:00 pm. on Saturday,
February 24. Any member of
the campus community is in-
vited to contribute.

 

IOW4!
cross

1

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country

Ski anywhere, anytime there is snow.
Enjoy America‘s tastesl glowing will-
let sport . . , Ski Touring. This kind
of skiing is simple. sate, and low-
cost.

Pharmacy

Cases and
Solutions Restaurant-

lounge
806 6th Ave.

925 Broad
The campsite has everything you
need to join the tun. it you want to
try Ski Touring, the Campsite has a
loncost rental semice available for
weekends

EYES EXAMI NED
Phone 236-7502

EJ. Jensen, 0.D. , > 7
OPTOMETRIST 9‘35 a ERWFHE VPINE ﬁes-5,;

Across from Post Office
Closed Thursday p.m. ERRORITEW AT YOUR

and Sat. p.m. BOOKSTORE

Slop m and browse anytime you j; All

have the time, «Game?

405 59th Street (at Gland Aye.)
Des Moines, lowa
515/274 4751

Hours Weekdays If am-8 pm
Saturdays 10 am-5 pm
Closed Sundays

 

 

 

 

 

