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Wednesday February 13, 2013
cOmmENTArY DSViEW
Responsibility miSTAKE The decision not to cancel class Monday put students, faculty and staff in danger.
Protestors picket outside of the Red River Women’s Clinic in 2011. Located in Fargo, the facility is the only abortion clinic located in the state. Photo courtesy of WDAY News.
Law could mean end for North Dakota’s only abortion clinic cHOicE New legislation could cause clinic to lose doctors and shutdown.
SAm GASPArDO
THEDAKOTASTUDENT
Women have worked hard to earn their rights for years. Yet there is still work to be done — especially close to home — as North Dakota has been named one of the worst places for women to live, according to “The Worst State for Women?” by Amanda Marcotte. According to the article, legislators are now trying to create a law in an attempt to shut down the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, the only clinic in the state that provides “high-quality affordable abortion and family planning services,” according to the clinic’s website. Shutting down the Red River Women’s Clinic would unnecessarily burden women across the state. Doctors working at the Red River Women’s Clinic travel from out of state to see patients and don’t have privileges to admit patients to local hospitals. The law members of the state legislature are considering would require the clinic to only employ doctors who have these privileges
to admit patients to local hospitals. The clinic employs doctors from out of town to keep them from being the subjects of harassment by the local people. Since doctors do not want to put themselves in the situation of having to deal with harassment at their own homes, the clinic would have a hard time finding doctors to work for it if it wasn’t able to look out-
... our bodies are something we are in control of and not the government. Sam Gaspardo staff writer
side of the immediate area. If the legislature passes the law, it is likely the clinic would have to shut down, cutting off access to abortion in the entire state of North Dakota. Marcotte states in her article that the bill before the legislature would serve to protect women’s safety. I don’t believe it. As long as the clinic has been operating, it has not faced issues with employing out of state doctors. Instead, I believe the motivation behind this bill is to shut down the Red River Women’s Clinic, set-
ting women in the state back to times before Roe v. Wade. Passing this bill will also put more people in danger that could possibly protected by passing the bill. Before Roe v. Wade was passed, many women still found ways to get an abortion. However, these ways were by no means safe and often times lead to death If this law was to pass and the clinic did eventually have to shut down, the same thing could happen again. Without any other option available for women, eliminating the state’s only abortion clinic could also lead to children being born into households where they would not be taken care of. These are things the legislators are neglecting if they pass this law. Women deserve the right to choose — our bodies are something we are in control of and not the government. The Red River Valley Clinic not only allows young women who know they will not be able to take care of a child to get help, but it also helps women who are put in danger by their pregnancy or who have been raped. By taking away the right to choose from women, North Dakota takes away their equality. If that is taken away, what’s next? Sam Gaspardo is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at sam.gaspardo.2@ my.und.edu
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This weekend, students struggled to return to campus as snow blasted the Midwest while ice and snow coated the interstates and highways leading back to Grand Forks and the comforts of campus. More than 50 students who traveled to Omaha to support UND’s men’s hockey team found themselves stranded in a gymnasium in Summit, S.D., unable to venture on because of the dangerous roads. Members of The Dakota Student staff who were attending the American College Press Best of the Midwest convention in Minneapolis were stuck in their hotel room for an extra day waiting for the roads to reopen. Students who had gone home for the weekend found themselves spending some extra time with their families as snow danced in the wind outside. And yet UND remained open, pushing the start of the day back a measly two hours. Administrators, faculty and staff were all aware of the weather and road conditions, as were the parents who made anxious calls to students who had decided to brave the roads to make it back for class. Administrators at NDSU made the decision to cancel classes for the day, putting student safety ahead of any other factors. So why didn’t the administration at UND? Allowing classes to continue with only slight delay was a highly irresponsible move on the university administration’s behalf. Refusing to cancel classes forced students, professors and staff to venture out into bad weather to get to class, risking their well being, simply to occupy classroom space for a 50-minute lecture. There is a point when individual lives must take precedence over exams, learning and even an entire institution. The students of UND rely on campus officials to recognize this tipping point and make the decision to do what is best for the individuals on campus. They didn’t. Instead, that difficult decision was left up to students and professors — the decision to either remain in the safety of their residence hall rooms, apartments or homes or to venture out into a winter storm severe enough to be named by the Grand Forks Herald and The Weather Channel. The decision should not have been left up to individuals. We at The Dakota Student can only hope that the next time a storm ravages the plains and student safety is called into question, the university will give more weight to the risks to the well being of those who call UND home. After all, what good is getting accepted to college if you don’t make it to graduation day?
Editorial Board Christen Furlong Editor-in-chief Carrie Sandstrom Opinion Editor Editorial Policy The Dakota Student is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas. Opinion columns and letters to the editor will not be edited for content reasons, except in cases of criminal or civil liability. The Dakota Student reserves the right to edit or reject columns or letters for various reasons. The ideas expressed in columns and letters reflect the views of the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the staff of the Dakota Student.
Letter Policy
The Dakota Student encourages readers to express their opinions on the editorial pages. Letters to the editor are published based on merit, general interest, timeliness and content. All letters must be limited to 250 words. > Letters may be mailed to 2891 2nd Ave N. Stop 8177, Grand Forks, N.D. 58202-8177 or dropped off at room 8, Memorial Union. > Letters must be typed and must include the author’s name, major or profession and telephone number. > All letters will be edited to fit the allocated space. Writer may be limited to one letter per month.