12

I

THE JEWISH ADVOCATE, THURSDAY, UAY 6, I9?7

EDITORIALS

E nuir onrnent Vs . lrt dustrial Rul'e

vironme.ntally' sound,

'

Undpr current ta.rn, industrymust prove,technology safe be-fore using it. But a pro - Seab-rook decision could reverse es-tabl i shed pol icy, set t ing adangerous precedent in whichenvironmental groups wouldhave to prove teehnologyharmful befor€ it's banned.

This means that any poten-tially hazardous technology -from off - shore oil rigs to stripmining to Seabrook's water -

, heating cooler - might be putinto use unt i l envi ronmen-tdlists, without big - businesscapital, established the costlyproof of pollution.

If Costle decides in favor ofSeabrook, almost 1,200 utilities

, and industries will save moneythis ,year - but every Ameri-ean citizen will lose.

If Seabrook officials aren'tforeed to prove that their ProP-osed cool ing system is en-

Ameriea's industrialists maysoon find little to stop themfrom pol lut ing the nation'srryaters

EPA (Environmental Pro- 'tection AgencY) Administrator

. Douglas Costle wjll soon de-cide whether or not the Seab-rook plant may use a coolerthat releases large quantitiesof hot water into the oeean, kil',ling fish and destroying ecolog-ical balance.

If he gives Seabrook the go -

ahead, damaged New Englandwaters will seem erYstal elearin comparison with the murkYprospect of weakened en-

' vironmental control.I

ITORIAT

frnergA PLan Erosion PitfallsAlthough Pres ident

txx$$ffiffH$ffiff

, Carter's energy plan moved. swiftly throqgh the House,this summer,t his package, tnfly disintergrate in themidst of Senate wrangling.

, . The patchwork legislation,. tnounted to guard the coun-, try.against an 'energy crisisrincluded a maze of taxes, r€-bates and conservation in-centives. House ratified fea-tures unfortunately guttedby the Serate would have es-tablished uniform electricityrates and industrial use ofcoal.

Further, replacement of atax on gas - guzzling autos'with outright ban of overly -Iarbe vehicles prevents effi-'Cient uSe of car pools andlimgusine services.

Whi le reports of mor€abundant natural gas sug-gest an easing energy situ-ation, analysts point'out thatre sident ial surPlus existssimply because industrialusers are turning to oil im-ports. Sections of Carter'sconservation policY may betough on the cOnsumef, but ,Senate reluctance to regu-late gas prices and tax U'$.crude oil only serves big bus-iness

Americans must sacrificein the face of certain energYcr.un'F$.;iAn imPerfect Pabh-age is better than none, andif Consress doesn't get its acttogeiher, the U.S. will sim-plt bow to oil - industty,greed jn what Carter terrns''itt* moral equivalent of war.'

i T

to ll'l l'7

THN JEWISH ADVOCATE THU

EDITORIALS HESHVAN 15, 5?:I8

IrI ucle ar p oticA p erilsWith a new U.S. _ Sov ie t

q lms pac t in s igh t anddialogue limiting higt, _ riskatomic technology underway,it looks as if th; Carter Ad_minist rat ion m ay put a'{Emper on immediite n^uclearthreats. But despite positivesteps leading to gieatei flow oftrade and East - West detente,the Administ rat ionhas re_peated what geems to be itsforeign policy routine _ outlin_ing grandiose goals and eom-iTg up with results that fallshort of expectation

While an arms limitation ae_gord_proposed last March cutdeeply into the *u"pons ceil_rTg,Iew_ negotiations include amtrcter tramework that someanalysts feel would "n"btu theRussians to cripple amerieanground missiles on first strike.

of e_quipme_nt that could beused to build atomic weapons.- Indeed, the conference em_phasized a major policy shift

toward' inereaied U.S.- toler_ance of other nation's nuelearplans. Clearly, Carter wants toavoid eontroversies over theuse and export of sensit ivetechnologies l ike those thatemerged earlier in the yearwith West Germant

"t;d

Japan. Some critics juslty fearlhat ttrc new Administrationline could, in faet, pro-ot;;;;of atomic arms.

One must remember, how_ever, that arms talks and tech_nology contro l touch basicquestions of detente and nul_lear deterrence. Even agree-ments that sorne feel f ivorother nations slightty will comeunder intense serutiny.' Initial diseussion and prop_osals can only be forerunnersof d isarmament and wor ldsafety. Let 's hope t iral Mr.

And although president Car_ter expressed satisfacti,on withlast week's a0 - naiio"-.onfer_

:l:u* :3 rugl9." r_ technotosy,s'-ttu;;i#;;"d;-aslee*}c#

Carter's softene-d "pprou.[ffie"erv+ffi

*svQcA TilURSDAY, DECE M gES."&,

rtfr:#te mental hospitals usedtFi[nnjure images of locked'$r*ms, straight iackets andp*dded cells. But as advances'iS drug therapy eliminate the'rleed to institutionalize largenurrfbers, manY mental healthadvpcates place greater em-ph*sis on new laws to protecteivil rights of the mentallY itl., Irl a landmark case now be-

ttre the US District Court in-Boston, one woman - a men-tatlg retarded teenager namedDorlna Hunt - has become thefogal point of a trial that couldchapge traditional practicesinsfde mental hospitals. Attor-

charge that 14 psYchiat-and one psychologist as-

i iated with Boston State;:pital forcibly medicatedt secluded Hunt during non -

,6irgency' situations. And ac-

cording to a temPorary re-straining order issued in 1975,physicians carrnot treat Pa-tients without consentcept in emergeney.

Wtrite legal activists hopethat the ease will set a Prece-dent rendering the 1975 rulingpermanent, crucial questionsremain:

What actuallY haPPened tbHunt at Boston State HosPital?

Did doctors involved ignorestate law and accePtable med-ical practice?

Ceitainly, no mental Patientshould be forced to take anti -psychotic drugs or enter solit-lry confinement against his or

' her wilt. In' cases where noemergency exists, such actsviolate constitutional rights,including freedom of sPeech,right to due Process and free-

' ' t .

t *

rss*}"dom from eruel -ln'd lT"t$ry:l ; Jftt" : h i,'|"11fr :tiallY oppres:;ilJ *i!" doctors must ans-

wer to no o"l' eltlroYglltl,Yi;;H;:"t #;J m uitttainthe ri sht

; ; t ; ; ; i Pat ients under ex-

l ;" ; ; c i icumstances' law-

makers requireffi;ii; a"niiiion or the word'6m.tgencY '

Coersiontook Place at Boston State

ff*ptt*l; conrtitukb ser$W '

m alpr actic e':i tO g" J o sePtr-h

T auro must AttiJ6 *hether the

sectusion ;; ;;dic3liory --eJ'Donna Hunt we-re jugtified $�ff'

trulY Oanger;'; ePisode* &t''' assault, t"il-:-1."i"1l.offi 't"Hp;;a Lurciae"' oT whettp'r'as her ru*vi-tt :1-TT'rt&treatment, "'*"u"tiqg to $&:-

ple incomPetenc"' w.ut d$'

signed to e5t'ii"ttt "out of'flre

staf f 's halr ' " 'o '

.

EDITORIALSI

SHEVAT 18, 5738

A Question of Monke'LlsIndia's recent ban on the ex-

po r t o f r hesus monkeysfhose humanoid primates usedin a wide variety of biomedicalexpe r i men ts w i l l su re l yhave drast ic impact on hun-dreds of research proje,cts inthe US. ,

While the overwhelming ma-jori ty of monkeys are used innon - mil i tary, disease - relatedresearch, reports of fatal neut-ron bomb expe r imen ts andbrutal prof i teering bear wit-ness t o t he f ac t t ha t somearr imals are being sacr i f icedneed less l y f o r ques t i onab lemedical gain. Pr ime MinisterDesai 's decis ion to cut India 'smonkey business - a responseto er ies o f abuse, waste andcrucl ty - comes af ter years ofquota reduct ions and echoesthe H indu l eade t " s re l i g i ous

opposi t ion to destruct ion ofanimal l i fe .

The rhesus monkey is essen-t ial i f American scientists areto continue their largely laud-able medical research in suchf i e l ds as cance r and pha r -m a c e u t i c a l s . T h e m o n k e y sare, afteral l , used to investi-gate serious diseases and in-j u r i e s w h e n h u m a n e x -per imentat ion is c 'onsideredunethical, and they consti tutea mainstay of many vital vac-c ine programs. More impor-tant, decades of study on theanimals ' behavior , Chemistryand physiology provide a base

-for more spphist icated inquiryand faster results

Value of experiements mustult imately be weighed againstme thods by wh i ch monkeys .are impor ted and re"search

J E W I S H A D V O C A ' | E , T T I U R S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 2 6 , I 9 7 t {

c o n d u c t e d . I n d i a ' s d e c i s i o nwil l force America to establ ishits own rhesus supply. But noma t te r whe re t he monkeyscome f rom, sc ien t i s t s mus tconfront the moral issue. Str ic-ter controls on treatment of theani mals whether domest icor foreign - wi l l certainly noth i n d e r v a l i d s c i e n t i f i c r e -search .

t 4q$sssssssssssssss�s",{sYI$H AP}aoq33q, THURgpAy, FEBRUAR y A,,rs.

EDITORIALS SHEVAT 2,5,8798

" .r':l Doctors For Urbcln PoorAmerica's urban poor may

finally get their own doctors.The federal deeision to sendphysicians into revaged NewYork City neighborhoodssorne without a single residentM.D. - signals,a major pol icyshift in favor of inner - citvnTH

certain atreas in NewYork C i ty , many pover tys t r ieken ne ighborhoodsthroughout the US have nophysicians at all. And while theNational Health Service Corpseontinue to send 94 percent ofits subsidized doctors to ruralcom muni t ie .s , c i ty s lu m sl a c k e v e n t h e m o s t b a s i cprirnary health care. But the

la rges t u rban recru i tmentprogram undertaken since thecorps' formation six years agonow promises to turn these de-pressing figures around.

New measures require that60 percent of all corps recruitsgo to inner - city sections withfew or no M.D. 's . Indeed, asmore doc tors f lee areas inwhich health is poorest, needfor this statistical charrge be-comes urgent; with urban pooriso la ted f rom the na t iona lmainstream, harsh l ives andunava i lab le p reventa t ivet rea tment have snowba l ledinto a major medical di lemma.

For the corps effort to suc-ceed, cit ies must reduce red

l3pu and provide urban prac_titioners with increased hbspi-tal _privileges. Administrativeand financial guidelines shouldset _the pace fo\ any largesca le , u rban hea l i h p l an .Amer ican med ic ine * r r tguarantee tha t doetors gowhere they're needed _ Indiinreservations,, Appalachia, cityslums - and that they're pro_vided for after arrival.

: ' * - " , . '_ .* .;iri'.

t - l , \ i * - ii / , 4 / I / V

2-Sec. 2

NISAN 20,5738

Betty Ford's Ana\ysi,sBetty Ford's recent discus- ,

sion of her addiction to pre-scription drugs illuminates aproblem that will continue tohaunt our society unti l themedical profession shapes up.

A student on any col legeeampus ean walk into theschool infirmary around examtime, complain of insomnia ornerves, and come out with aprescription for Valium - thesupposedly mild muscle re-laxant which claims more ad-dicts each year. And a house-wife who has trouble gettingthrough the day can easily gether hands on some Librium -

; l ' ike Valium, a prescript ion' tranquil i zer whose subtle

physical and psychologiea' lpowers of addict ion of tencreep up on users without thebenefit of medical warning.

'All too frequently, it seems,physicians subscribe to the no-tion that drugs can cure any-th,ing - even those ills tracedto mild emotional stress. In-stead of referring patients topsycho - therapists, counselorsor soc ia l workers , an M.D.may routinely advise the pa-tient to take a pill.

Accusat ions in Mas-sachuset ts have po in ted toabuse of the deeply disturbed,inst i tut ional ized patient viasuch powerful treatments aselectro - shock therapy and

: - t . J :" r55:::;--.li:i..

r "::;. ', ,..,y' .

l { ' ' ' : ,

i

n* .rnwr s$4 pvoc43E,, rsg, qlpn_f ; n r$sffi

:

anti - deprtssant medieation. *: !:.; . :,

But little attention has been I b''paid to injustices heaped upon | ,.r ijthe garden variety neurotic Iwho Eous to the docior tonrteip I .',''' $C t - v v v v v r . v s v v : v l M r r \ r r l ,

I : i

and comes away with a bottle I :,iof Valium. Without careful in- t ,#struction. the individual

-may ,..1\end up with two problems -the original, for which tie orshe sought a cure in the firstplace , and a drug addictionsimilar to t[e one revealed byMrs. Ford. '

Doctor's wrote sixty millionprescriptions for Valium Iastyear. It is encouraging when awoman in tsetty Ford's posi-tion takes the time to exposepitfalls.

_ t.:

t l6i / i '7q

. ' - . ' ' - ' * . \

EDITORIALS IYAR 25, 5738

n Is Academtc' , J

of ,adversaries for hq$feds ofy-Cars.'Such censor#ip is apolitieal'tool that has rttarkedth6'bleakest periods in humanhistory : the Inquisition, theNazi Holocaust, the MOCarthYera of the 1950's. - |,. . *:

So it seems only natural th.sltthe University of WiscllPsin atMilwaukee should get.u$ inarms about a political order'barring disclosure of researchconducted in their cornPuterseience department. The Wis-consin proiect received $89,?28fqom the Ngti,ggal SeienceFgundation in t€??. Tltg grant,contained rto provision barrin$,disclosure of the study's find-

,'. 8ll intellectual inquirY.,:: It's not easy to ignore the re-l1;Eults of repression. Stalin'siltolitical assault on modernii[enetics delayed the study of''&at science within the USSR,fur over thirty years. The abso-' $ute dogma of Plato and Aristo-:*1e' eonvinced monarchs that

. ',the world was flat - and that, boncept was nourished.through political suppression

ings and issued no warning thatthe research might be sensi-tf{P . "4iln',!hg, sehool- doesn'tevinr tileftnit classified re-searc^b j$q'be conducted on its€#rfifliii"that PolicY- grew outof anti--War unrest during thel*tg.pixties and earlY seven-tigse''{ffiarner Baum, chancellor at

, :ijb Mitwaukee school, has' 'fiSked'the National Science

Foundation to ioin the Univer--sity;'iff $rotesting the federal

secrecy order. ButNSF entrenched inponi$igql"battles, FoiEaflefship can hapected enter anothe

American scienbeen vociferous in pthe freeze on their colleeguesin the USSR. But now it's timeto foeus energies at hsm€. Ifthe federal order stands, ahaunting precedent . foracademic restriction m4y re-- '

verberate for years to cbme.

with the

2 - S e c . 2 THE JEWISH AI)VOCATE, THURSDAY JUNE 9, 1977

EDITORIALS Sivan 23,5737 1

Questionabl,e Hos pital Ethic sThis May Senator Kennedy

argued',in favor of PresidentCarter's proposal to limit hos-pi ta l costs. We applaud hisadmirable per formanee. Aschairman of the Senate Sub-committee on Health and Sci-entifie Research, he'll musterneeded suppor t fo r the.President's plan to cut fat fromour health budget, providingbetter, less expensive care forlower and middle classes.

Unfortunately, Kennedy hasalso used his position on the in-f luen t ia l Subcommi t tee topush through plans that wi l linerease hospital costs in Mas-sachusetts - where prices arecurrent ly 23 pereent h igherthan the national average. Ac-cording to'UPI, Globe and NewRepublic stories, Kennedy - aLahey Clinic trustee - backedthet Boston clinic in its questfor funds to expand in subur-ban Burl ington.

State health planners claim

tha t t he p ro jec ted Laheyfacility would become another"white elephant, " flounderingin debt as it was forced to over-charge on drugs and services.

Even though the Mas -sachuset ts Heal th Faci l i t iesAppeals Board has joined witha group bf doctors in legal ac-tion against the proposed med-ica l cen ter , the federa lgovernment 's Hea l th an t iUrban Development branchrecently lent Lahey $6.5 mill-ion to begin eonstruction. Bysucceeding in i ts current l i t ig-ation - to be heard beginningJune 13, in the MassachusettsSuperior Court - Lahey will beel igible for $63.5 mil l ion more.

I f C a r t e r ' s p r o g r a m i sthwarted by the influence ofpowerful private forces, !os-pital costs wil l soar. And ex-pansion of a private cl inic l ikeLahey wi l l dra in funds thatwould otherwise go into neededpubl ic care.