South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 32, Ed. 1 Friday, September 29, 1989 Page: 1 of 16
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Vol. XXIV, No. 32
Serving the Diocese of Corpus Christi since 1966
September 29, 1989
ruly You have formed my
inmost being; You knit me
in my mother’s womb.
I give thanks chat I am fearfully,
wonderfully made;
wonderful are Your works.”
Psalm 139: 13-14
The myth ‘safe,
legal3abortion
By Richard Doerflinger
Ever since the Supreme Court allowed some state
regulation of abortion in its Webster decision this Ju-
ly, abortion rights groups have stepped up their ef-
forts to publicize the need for “safe and legal abor-
tion.” The constant repetition of this phrase suggests
that legality automatically means safety.
But the Supreme Court has accepted a case for its
1989-1990 term that raises questions about this im-
age. Tumock v. Ragsdale is the latest episode in the
long an d tragic story of Illinois’ efforts to make abor-
tion less dangerous to women—efforts blocked at
every turn by the abortion industry and by federal
courts defending the “right” of abortion.
The case involves a 1982 Illinois statute
establishing safety standards for ambulatory surgical
treatment centers in the state. This law simply re-
quires abortion clinics to maintain the same sanitary
and safety standards as other centers doing outpa-
tient surgery. But suit has been brought against the
law by I)r. Richard Ragsdale, an entrepreneur who
performs about 10 percent of the 35,000 annual abor-
tions in Illinois for an abortion-related income of
close to one million dollars a year.
Dr. Ragsdale complained because he found that
the modifications needed to bring a new clinic into
conformity with Illinois law would be expen-
sive—court records cite him as estimating “a per-
patient cast of between $25 and $40.” Last year a
federal appellate court ruled that abortions in the first
trimester may not be subjected even to safety regula-
tions routinely applied to other outpatient surgery.
Dr. Ragrdale would not have to forego some of his
milf.ion-do).lar-a-year abortion income in order to
take certain precautions on his female patients’
behalf.
Problems faced by mentally ill
brought to forefront this week
By Lillian Harris
STC correspondent
CORPUS CHRISTI—Sometimes
people are faced with very difficult
situations in their lives, times during
which even friends and family
members cannot find the right words
to ease the pain.
During these times they often gain
support from their faith and the
Church, turning to an understanding
priest, Sister, Brother or deacon.
During “Mental Illness Awareness
Week” Oct. 1-7 the Corpus Christi
Alliance for the Mentally 111 will be
reaching out to these and other
pastoral ministers. The alliance will
try to help them become more aware of
how to help those dealing with mental-
ly ill family members or spouses.
Byron and Kaylyn Grant joined the
alliance two years ago after searching
for almost 10 years to fmd someone to
understand their grief. Their son, now
20, suffers from schizophrenia, one of
the most serious and debilitating men-
tal illnesses.
However, the Grants have had to
deal not only with their son’s illness,
but also with society’s lack of
understanding of the mentally ill.
“No one could understand what we
were going through,” said Mrs.
Grant. “They would just tell me,
‘Everything is going to be okay,’ but
what they don’t know is that it’s not
going to be okay.”
She pointed out that mental illness is
not a form of m ntal retardation, but
rather a groir .4 diseases that usually
affect some- ,e of normal intelligence.
They result in a substantially
diminished capacity for coping with
the ordinary demands of life, accor-
ding to the Texas Department of Men-
tal Health and Mental Retardation.
“One day our son would be perfect-
ly fine and the next he would have sud-
den uncontrollable outbursts,” ex-
plained Mrs. Grant. “We really did
not know what to expect from one day
to the next. It is not like a death when
you suffer and then go back to your
daily life. It is more like a rollercoaster
See Mental Illness, page 3
See Abortion, page 16
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Freeman, Robert E. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 32, Ed. 1 Friday, September 29, 1989, newspaper, September 29, 1989; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840356/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .