News High Court Curtails Abortion Rights' Lancimark Decision Stops Short of Complete Reversal ...

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Contents
Denizen's ofthe night (above) returned tothe Copafor
Susanne Bartsch's monthly event More pix ofthat and
other happenings start onpage 52. Photo: Erich Conrad
FEATURES
Going for the Gold
Ann Giudici Fettner puts Charles Ortleb
Under the Microscope page 31
Genre Queen
Terry Helbing seeks answers from the
lady in Question: Charles Busch
pag"e 34
ONTH~ COVER:
Acomputer generated image qfthe HIVvirus,
courtesy NIAID.
•
Outspoken
The War Escalates'
he handwriting's on the wall -
written in blood.
, ,Within a period of ten days, the
Supreme Court of the United States sharply cur-
tailed civil rights legislation, forced itself into
women's uteruses, and gave the go-ahead to
execute mentally-impaired individuals - all, for-
bodingly, at the time of the third anniversary of
the Hardwick sodomy decision. Using deflec-
tions such as the flag-burning ruling, the court
feeds us crumbs while stripping us of basic
human' rights. It is no exaggeration to say that
we are entering a dangerous era. We are living
-in a crumbling empire, and we know all too well
from history that insecure governments resort, in
desperation, to de'sperate tactics. The fact that
the lesbian and gay community is experiencing a
renaissance in activism shouldn't give us a false
sense of security: The largest pre,Stonewall gay
and lesbian movement peaked in Germany
shortly before Hitler took charge.
The fight ahead is going to be brutaL For the
'90s the battleground is our bodies, and the war
is over who owns them:' us or the government.
Coalitions are now being bliilt.
Homelessness, and the right to put one's body in
a' public space - or to demand the government
provide a space for that body -. must be and
wiU be bridged with the abortion rights move-
ment, the AIDS movement, the iesbian and gay
mQvement and the health-care movement. Our'
bodies are on the line. And -we must demand
not only the right to do with them what we
please, but the right to adequate, proper medical
care and housing. One chant was screamed
aloud at various demos in the last two weeks, be·
they pro-choice rallys, AIDS demonstrations or
homelessness protests: "Keep your laws off my
body!" This much we must fight for, T
4 OtJTTWEEK July 10,1989
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Letters To The Editor
To the Editor, and ashamed to be associated with ToThe Editor,
I was put off by the CandeJight folks who don't share my respect for Hearty congratulations on the first
Vigil on June 23rd for a number of nature, The· parade committee two issues of OutWee*!You're off to a
reasons, The mean-spirited introducto- changed its plans to release the bal- great start, I'm switching from The
ry,remarks by Red Maloney ("Look loons, The vigil was run by the same Native... the writing in OutWeek is so
around! This is the gay community, folks! They knew the facts, but didn't much better. \
not ACf UP!") nipped in the bud any care, I was especially impressed with
comfort I might have taken from thi~ So I shouldn't have been sur- your, coverage on the AlDS!HIV virus
ritual. Even if I did not respect the prised when the candles (with cups!) and the Phyllis Diller review/inter-
work of ACf UP,I don't want to be a were tossed into the Hudson as a view. Nicely written..,again, sO much
captive audience for divisive rhetoric finale, better than the Diller article in The
when I attend an event hoping to feel Wedo not honor to the memories Native,
solidarity with other Lavender- of our loved 9nes when we create Keep up the good work,
Americans and our friends, inspiring visual effects with no con- , Sincerely,
The release of the, balloons cern for the consequences, You want peter I.aune ,
reflected a callousness on the part of eXciti,ngeffects?Make itaudio, instead New~rk
\fie organizers of the event. One of of visual. Pop all the balloons at a
the great qualities of our community given signal. Blowout the candles in
theSe last 20 years has been the will- unison, There are yet other ways to OutWeekwelcomes letters from its
,ingness to learn from each other, I feel connected to each other at com- readers. Please mail allcorrespon-
didn't know that the balloons are munity rituals without doing damage dence to:
ingested by sea turtles and other to the environment and to the body
marine life and kill them, Now I politic, Letters tothe Editor
know, Now I am not moved by the Sincerely, OutWeek Magazine
beauty of the,spectacle of lofting col- Naphtali Offen 77Lexington Avenue
,orful balloons, Instead, I am angry New York.NY10010
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WOUU)N'T UAVEMA~EA
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A~OT MEANb YO\)o
6 OUTTWEEK July 17, 1989
News
High Court Curtails Abortion Rights'
Lancimark Decision Stops Short of Complete Reversal of Roe
byVictoria A.Brownworth precise situation that Roe was White (author of the Hardwick
and Andrew Miller designed to avoid, sodomy ruling), and Reagan
WASHINGTON- The much-awaited Missouri State Attorney General appointee Justice Anthony Kennedy
Supreme Court decision in the'case of William Webster argued for his state's were in agreement on all points' of
Webster' v, Rep1loductive Health law, the preamble to which states that the majority ruling, That majority
Services came down on July 3rd, the "life begins at conceptiorr," complicat- voted to uphold all aspects of the
last day of the Court's 1988-89 term, ing the issue of abortioqs within the Missouri construct except the'statment
While the Court did not overturn Roe, first three months of pregnancy, The that life begins at conception, But the
some of the rights estaqlished in that law also restricts puqlicly-funded hos- Court did not vote to strike that state-
_, case have been seriously damaged by pi\als and health facilities from per- ment from the law, implying that such
the new ruling, ' forming abortions, even if a client a statement could be a~opted by the
In a splintered 5-4 decision in pays for the procedure herself, In states, without 'an explicit opinion
which almost' none of the justices addition, it requires the performance from the Court,
agreed completely with each other, of viability tests on fetuses over 19 Justices Antonin Scalia and
the Court upheld two of the three weeks old to determine the pqssibility. Sandra Day O'Connor, both Reagan
points of the Mis,souri law, and of their survival outside of the womb, appointees, agreed with the majority
declined to comment on the third, The Court did not hand down a opinion in part, But Scalia criticized
The decision effectively returned simple decision on these issues, Only the Court in an accompanying deci-
some of the power over abortion Chief Justice Rehnquist, who wrote sion for,not overturning Roe vs, Wade
rights to the individual states - the the majority opinion, Justice Byron outright, ."It thus appears that the
ABORTING WOMEN'S RIGHTS Photo: Patsy.Lynch
Anti-abortion and pro-choice foes atthe Supreme Court.
July 17,1989 OUTTWEEK 7
News
mansion of sonstitutionalized abortion ing other than an attempted exercise the organization which sponsored the
law, constructed overnight in Roe v, of brute force; reason, much less per- original legislation that led to the
Wade, must be disassembled door- suasion, has no place, I fear for the Court case, said, "States can now at
jamb by doorjamb, and never entirely future, I fear for the liberty of millions least strive:to protE:ctinnocent human
brought down, no matter now wrong of women, I fear for the Court,· he lives by regulating the practice of
itmay be,· Scaliawrote. wrote in his decision, which he read abortion, The Court appears to be
"Of the four courses we might angrily from the Bench, in a break showing a readiness to recognize that
have cho.sen today - to reaffirm Roe, with tradition, human life begins at conception, and
to overrule it explicitly, to overrule it Blackmun, who has been ode of that the. unborn have some rights to
sub silentio, or to avoid the question the Court's strongest proponents of that life,·
- the last isthe least responsible,." he the right to privacy for women, and And the war did 'appear to move
continued, directly attacking for gay men and lesbians (he swiftly, In Pennsylvania, considered by
O'Connor's own decision, which authored the Clissentin the Hardwick many to have the strongest anti-abor-
reads in reference to Roe, "When the case), was echoed by dire predictions tion lobby in the nation, the move to
constitutional invalidity of a state's froer abortion rights advocates, block. abortions came just hours after
abortion statute actually turns on the Judith Widdicombe, founder of the Webster decision was handed
constitutional validity of Roev, Wade,' Reproductive Health Services, the down, State Representative Stephen
there will be time enough to re-exam- clinic involved in the litigation, said, Freind called for a special convening
ine Roe,And to do so carefully," "This is a serious, serious setback for of the legislature to add an abortion
Abortion remains a constitutional women and families in this country, control rider to the state law,
right in all 50 states, But individual This is an outrage, There's a move- In New York, where state laws
states may now make their own abor- ment in this country that will not tol- passed before tbe 1973 Roe decision
tion laws, Because the new decision legalized abortion, all four democratic
permits states to decide under what mayoral candidates said they would
circumstances itislallowable, itcan be oppose any attempt by the state legis-
successfully restricted by state laws, lature to limit a woman's access to an
For example, the Missouri law's abortion, Bl,ltRudolph Giuliani, who is
bjln on abortion (including abortion seeking both the Republican and
referrals and counseling) in,publicly- Liberal Party nominations, said, "I
funded institutions has a Wide-ranging would not take a leadership role, sup-
impact, because most health-care facil- porting or opposing abortion, 1 am
ities, even private ones, receive some running for mayor, not governor,·
kind of government funding, Women according to the New York Times.
most affected by this aspect of the law Giuliani was almost -immediately
will 'be those who cannot afford to attacked by Mayor Koch., "Rudy
obtain an abortion in a private facili~, Giuliani has made it clear that he
According to abortion-rights advo- opposes freedom of choice," Koch
cates, the law will essentially prohibit told the Times, '
ITAINT NECESSARILY SO
poor and low-income women from In a strongly worded statement
Anti-abortionist kneels infront of
obtaining abortions, delivered on July 5, Governor Mario
the High Court Photo: Patsy Lynch
Justice Harry Blackmun, author Cuomo said that he would reject any
of the original 1973 Roev, Wade deci- , legislation that attempted to limit a
sion, wrote a scathing dissent joined erate this, It will become our Vietnam woman's access to an abortion in New
by Justices William Brennan, of the 1990s,· York State, He also reaffirmed his sup-
Thurgood Marshall and John Paul Anti-choice activists, while port-for the use of public funds and
Stevens, '''For today, at least, the law unhappy that Roe had not actually facilities for the abortions of low-
of abortion stands undisturbed, For been overturned, were otherwise jubi- income women. "Letthem come with'
today, the women of this Nation still lant. Randall. Terry, leader of a law that says you can't use Queens
retain the liberty to contr91 their des- Operation Rescue, a group which General Hospital, that you ~n't use a
tinies, But the signs are evident and blockades women's health centers in public hospital. That law will be
very ominous, and a chill wind an effort to shut them down, said, defeated for the same reason that we
blows," B1ackmun wrote. "The writing's on the wall, folks, Roe put Medicaid funding in the budget,·
B1ackmun also wrote that there is is going to go down, [Untilthen] we he said, according to the Times,
.no legal justification for the ,Court's will blockade these killing centers and Cuomo has said in the past that he, is
decision to permit states to tamper we will stop the slaughter." personally opposed to abortion, but
with Roe, "This 'it's-so-because-we- Aflne Carmichael, executive' supports the right of each woman to
\
say-so' jurisprudence constitutes noth- director of Misso~ri Citizen's for Life, continueif onpillge19
8 OUTTWEEK July 17, 1989
--~
News
The Battle shoving matches took place continu-
ously throughout the day amidst the
of the Courthouse Steps blue and white "Keep Abortion Legal"
.signs and placards bearing pictures of
aborted fetuses,
Opposing Activists Clash After Ruling'
By 11 a,m, the court steps were
littered with hundreds of wire coat
hangers with attached signs that read,
byCliffO'Neill poor women who could not be able "Never again," a symbolic reference to
WASHINGTON-After the Supreme to receive public funds for their abor- the unsafe abortions which were
Court handed down its benchmark tions, commonplace before the 1973 Roe
decision to limit abortion rights in the , That sentiment was further decision,
case of Webster v, Reproductive expressed by Eleanor Smeal, founder One confrontation at the micro-
lJealth ServicesJuly 3, the battle over and president of the Fund for the phones came as Planned Parenthood
those rights was tossed back to the Feminist, Majority, who stated the preSident Faye Wattleton extended
states, But on that morning, the battle decision "is dangerous, divisive and her comments while staffers of the
was already raging on the courthouse could be deadly." She also pledged to anti-abortion Right to Life Committee
steps, push for,what she called a "women's ,att'empted to take the microphone
Hundreds of demonstrators, on constitutional amendment" protecting from her,
" both sides of the issue, shouted now- abortion rights, which she contrasted Dr. John c. Willke, president of
familiar slogans at the press, each with President Bush's proposed anti- the national Right to Life Committee,
other, and anyone else who would flagdesecration amendment. tried to shove Wattleton out of the
listen, "We're worried about people way during the press conferen<;:eon
Molly Yard, president of the burning up the American flag, and the Courthouse steps,
National Organization for Women here we have people burning up the "I'm Dr,Jack Willke," he began,
(NOW) was the first to speak at a Constitution," chimed in .former "I'm not through," interjected
press conference on the Courthouse House member Bella Abzug, Wattleton, "And please, just be courte-
steps, For the most part, pro- and anti- ous, at least, Don't 'try to push me
In her angry address, the feminist abortion rights leaders were civilwith aside," she hissed angrily,
leader vowed to lead the pro-abortion each other at the microphones, while "I'm sorry," Willke responded, "I
rights majority of the nation to the across the court steps shouting and thought itwas myturn," ....
ballot box, saying, "We will take
this fight to the people ..,because
'obViously the Justices cannot be
trusted."
After several other statements
from pr~cabortion rights activists,
Randall Terry, founder of the mili-
tant anti-abortion group Operation
Rescue lauded the court's decision
inguarded terms,
"Roehas been modified, but
children are still going to die,' he
proclaimed, Discussing his organi-
zation's future plans to continue
blockading abortion cliniCS,which
he' called "killing centers," Terry
vowed to continue his fight to
"make child-killing illegal again."
"We are confident tb.t Roe
will be overturned by the end of
the [Bush) Adml'nistration,~ he
stated, characterizing the July 3
court decision as "a faltering step
inthe rig~t decisi~n,'" , POSTER CHILDREN Photo:Patsy lynch
Pro-rights actIvIstsdeCried the . '. '
, d " ". " Keeping the 'Blthonthe Supreme Courtsteps.
court s eClslon as war against
July 17,1989 OUTTWEEK 9
I News ~
Ripping Off the Left
Operation Rescue's Big Sham
bySarah Pettit away the poster, and one is rJomen- In fact, itisprecisely the underly-
A recent newspaper photo portrays a tarily put off mark, A frightening ing accord between anti-abortionists
powerful scene, A long-haired prospect, indeed, for seasoned CDers arid the last decade, of Republican
woman, her eyes closed and her who feel so profoundly at odds with office-holders which shows up the
entire frame listless, ispropped up off the political and 'moral' agenda of the siege mentality and CD (civil disobe-
the pavement by two police officers, anti-abortionists, dience) activism for what it is: a big
Before her face, a small, black placard So, what of this wolf in sheep's sham, Overlooking the fineties, their
isheld, Itdetails her arrest-no name, clothing? Why has the Rightchosen to movemen,t is no more in 'opposition'
the date, the city, Seabrook, one ~us- appropriate a form of activism that on to the current Administration than a
pects, or Greenham Commqn, A the surface so nearly resembles that red neck at a pig roast, /
glance at the caption reveals quite the of their political. counterparts? More It is important, then, to focus on
opposite, This near-supine figure is importantly, what does it stand to the facetious nature of Operation
one of a score of Operation Rescue gain by usurping lefty tactics for its Rescue's activism. While it may bear
devotees arrested in front of abortion moral/evangelical agenda? some of the visible signs of traditional
clinics over the past months, " The anti-abortion movement con- lefty resistance, at itscore isa militant
One can be pardoned this initial ceives of itself as-the displaced, the sense of itspowerful position vis-a-vis
fringe in search of vindication, even the status quo and its henchmen,
as our nation hurtles ever closer to What results is a frighteningly symbi-
News Focus
consolidating a conservative political otic tango with the powers that be:
program, ,As Roe v, Wade is held up cast into'the role of the "lunatic"
misperception, On a purely superficial for target practice, and we brace our- fringe, right wing action movements
level, the anti-abortion protest move- selves for another setback a faBowers such as the Right to Life and
.ment has adopted a bewildering num- v,Hardwick and the recent attacks on Operation Rescue set into relief the
ber of tactics(and guises traditionally equal opportunity employment, can ultimately right wing and moralistic
belonging to the Left and its causes: these zealots possibly overlook the tone of the current administration,
the mass·pickets, the endless bus con- fact that their ideology is so closely George Bush thus appears by turns
voys, the sit-ins, and th~ group allied with this Administration's stated evenhanded and measured, while, in
arrests, Turn down the sound, take ideals?Itseems not. fact, syllable by syllable endorsing a
platform in tandem with that of anti-
abortionists,
But this forces the truly facetious
nature of the "pro-life" Operation
Resuce mission into the open,
Propelled forward as they are on a
current of conservative sentiment and
\1 legislation, their half-hearted aping of
CD tactics serves as a further injustice
to the very action groups who must,
by neceSSity, employ such tactics,
Anti-abortionists conjure the contures
of CD and force them to their own
ends, They empty the action of its
specific political echoes (the Civil
,Rights movement, Vietnam)/ and
ignore its non-violence guidelines by
making and carrying out bomb
threats, and by harassing clinic clients,
Instead they choose to cull from CDa
sense of' "moral" righteousness,
Having gutted one oCthe primary, if
WOLVESIN SHEEP'S CLOTHING Photo:PeterLeVasseur
not only, means of-political redress
Operation Rescue atPlanned Parenthood, NYC.
10 OUTTWEEK July 17.1989