Anthony Comstock would be proud. It is not physicians who refuse to provide legally-entitled medicine to their patients who are the troublemakers, but those who commit the “oppressive,” and, as Mark Baumgardner insinuated in his Wednesday article, criminal act of wanting contraception.
Mr. Baumgardner’s insinuation about an axis of evil between contraception users and the pro-choice abortion group is false. Hormonal contraception (such as birth control) and abortion are substantially different. Abortion can be a form of contraception, but contraception is not abortion. Connecting Roe v. Wade with the unrelated issue of general contraception in order to attack non-abortion contraception is either ignorant or intentionally deceptive.
Additionally, Mr. Baumgardner’s explanation of Noesen’s innocence is deceptive. The obfuscation of the truth by using criminal law language to portray innocent contraception-seekers in a negative light aside (“aiding and abetting” indeed), his explanation warrants another look. Otherwise, the argument that Noesen did not “obstruct access to the hormonal contraceptive in any way,” while at the same time refusing access of the contraceptive to the couple seeking it, would sound ridiculous.
There really is no excuse for Noesen’s behavior. Mr. Baumgardner’s portrait of the evil pro-choice movement attacking the poor doctor is inaccurate; a more accurate picture would be a doctor being rightly called on trying to force his private views on innocent, law-abiding citizens.
Since Mr. Baumgardner is still apparently a century behind, it will be interesting to see how he articulates his rage over his discovery of the Scopes trial’s end result.
Karl Schook
UW senior, Political Science
Why a casino now?
I have no idea why residents of Madison and Dane county are even considering a casino. Our community needs to understand what a casino does to our city and to our image.
The cities that in the recent past have approved casinos are those that are desperate and have little going for them. Think Biloxi and Dubuque, NOT thriving, growing, world-class cities like Austin or Seattle. To whom do we want to compare ourselves? Is Madison more like Biloxi or Seattle? What is the vision for our city?
Madison has a diverse economy that is relatively recession proof. We have very low unemployment and well-paying white-collar jobs. We don’t need a casino, with all the negatives it will bring. We need to continue to be seen as a progressive, forward-thinking community. There is a reason Madison was chosen the best place to live in the US a few years ago.
Let’s not blow it now… send the casino packing!
Mark Schweiger
Madison, Wis.
