editorial roundup
From the Daytona Beach News-Journal, on lawmakers undermining abortion rights:
You might think it can't happen here -- girls bleeding in dirty rooms, women driving hundreds of miles to find a doctor, prosecutors levying charges against doctors who perform abortions.
In state after state, legislation to outlaw abortions is gaining traction. South Dakota's ban -- meant to re-test the historic Roe v. Wade decision -- forbids all abortions except those to save the life of a pregnant woman. Rape and incest victims who get pregnant will be forced to bear the children, and doctors who perform abortions face felony charges. If upheld, this law will likely force the closure of the state's only abortion clinic. Lawmakers in 11 other states are proposing similar bans.
Even those opposed to abortion should recognize that the best way to reduce its occurrence is to stop unwanted pregnancies. Realistic sex education that describes ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies would reduce the state's growing trend toward teen parenthood.
The Watertown Daily Times, on student aid and drug convictions:
Nearly 200,000 college students have been denied federal financial aid because they had prior drug convictions.
The Clinton-era law that went unenforced until President Bush took office requires students to acknowledge whether they have ever been convicted of possession or selling illegal drugs. Students are asked on their college-aid application about drug convictions. They can be declared ineligible for at least a year for a single count of possession with penalties increasing to indefinite disqualification for more than one conviction.
The policy imposes a civil penalty on top of the criminal fines or even prison sentences already served for their crime without evidence that it is a deterrent. Students can regain eligibility by completing a rehabilitation program with random drug tests, but that is an unnecessary cost.
College officials and many organizations want the provision repealed. It's time for Congress to do it.
--From wire reports