By Emory Williamson

With a bumper sticker on his wheelchair that reads “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” Michael Utter grimaces as he hears the intricate details of a partial-birth abortion.
The details, discussed by Michael Janocik of Kentucky Right to Life Association, were part of a panel discussion called “Abortion: Constitutional Right or Moral Wrong” held on Thursday, Jan.  15  at the Red Barn. Along with Janocik,  Dr. Paul Simmons of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, discussed the issue of abortion during a two-hour event in front of about 150 people.
Utter, a 2008 graduate from the University of Louisville, suffers from cerebral palsy and is restricted to a wheelchair. He said some of the views expressed by pro-choice Simmons were hurtful because he claims that pregnant females will choose abortion if they find out the baby will be handicapped or mentally retarded.
 “The truth [about abortion] always hurts, but the truth shall set the world free and hopefully we’ll be on the road to freedom in a couple of generations,” he said, adding that as a pro-lifer he feels compelled to attend these events. “I want everyone to realize that abortion is the preeminent wrong in society.”
Pro-choice attendees, such as Meg Stern, who was handing out condoms at the event, was equally upset, but more with Janocik’s statements.
“Handing out barrier items including male condoms and female condoms is part of the mission of our health collective,” said Stern, an escort for pregnant females at the EMW Women’s Surgical Center, a facility that provides abortions.
Janocik and Simmons discussed several issues pertaining to abortion including partial-birth abortion and bioethics as well as privacy, constitutionality and civil rights.
“This is a woman’s issue and until I know the woman’s circumstances I cannot make a judgment about her choice – it’s her call and it’s a burdensome choice,” said Simmons, who argued for privacy rights and improving comprehensive sex education. “I call on those who are trying to impose their points of views on others to back off.”
Janocik contested with his views that abortion infringes upon one’s civil rights as the aborted fetus is a human.
“Of course we’re not going to eliminate abortions because we have people murdered everyday and we have laws against murders,” Janocik said. “But it’s important to pass the laws because it’s a moral teacher and its about protecting the ideal that makes us a great country and that gives us the foundation to achieve universal human rights.”
The panel discussion, along with tomorrow’s event “Working toward Reproductive Justice in Kentucky,” come before Thursday’s 36th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, which permitted legal abortions in the U.S. Since the decision, both the pro-life and pro-choice sides have engaged in numerous debates, marches and protests.
According to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a sexual and reproductive health care organization, although more than one out of three women have had an abortion by the time they’re 45-years-old, abortion declined from 1.36 million in 1996 to 1.29 million in 2002.
PPFA attributes the decrease in abortions to an increased awareness of contraceptives and more sex education.
John Kenney, vice president of the U of L recognized student organization Cards for Life, said that events such as these are important to have on campus because they allow for the campus community to engage in more educational discussions.
“We don’t want [abortion] swept under the rug,” said Kenney, a senior mechanical engineering major. “We want to bring it out and talk about it.”
However, Kenney said the battle to overturn Roe v. Wade is difficult and that his group focuses more on issues within their community. He said that issues regarding U of L’s polices have also been discussed, including more options provided at the Campus Health Services instead of the abortion clinic and more services to pregnant female students. He said they would also like to eventually see university policy reflect views that life begins at conception, for he believes that the majority of students share this viewpoint.
“Our goal isn’t to just save babies, but it’s to help women as well,” Kenney said.
Within U of L’s Student Health Insurance Plan, the “elective termination of pregnancy” is covered as a policy with 90-percent preferred allowance and 65-percent of usual and customary charges.
Kenney said he wasn’t aware of the plan, but that he would discuss it in more detail with Campus Health Services. Dr. Phillip Bressoud, director of Campus Health Services, was unavailable for comment.
However, Lesley Sacher, past-president of the American College Health Association and current director of the student health center at Florida State University, said that plans such as the one at U of L are fairly normal for public institutions.
She said that most schools will do what they feel is necessary for their student body and that most religious-based institutions will not include abortion in their insurance plans. She said that FSU requires that female students be protected and respected in case of pregnancy.
“We don’t want an insurance plan to penalize a student if they are a female and pregnant,” said Sacher, who added that the ACHA does not make any recommendations regarding abortion policies within insurance plans. “We are wanting to be respectful of any students position.”