MFC President's Perspective
Circuit Court Hands MFC a Vital Legal Victory
Good News on Abortion, Bad News on Compulsive Gambling and Marriage Views

By Tom Prichard

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in our favor on a motion by the homosexual legal group, Lambda, to add three leftist student groups, who face potential funding cuts, to a lawsuit challenging the University of Minnesota's mandatory student fees.

The Court denied the motion, saying these groups had "no constitutional or legal right to compel unwilling students to provide financial support for their activities." This was a tactical blunder by these groups because they undercut the University's main defense in requiring student funding for these radical groups. Now this ruling controls the district court's future actions.

Positive News On The Abortion Front

The rate of abortion is dropping, from a peak of 25 per 1,000 women in 1980, to 19 per 1,000 women in 1995. (The rate before Roe v. Wade in 1970 was 13.) Also, the number of abortionists and abortion facilities is down-a 14 percent drop from 1992 to 1996 alone. Only one in 10 OB/GYN programs trains medical students to perform abortions.

Why the decline? I believe it is because of a growing disapproval of the practice of abortion. While legal initiatives are important, changing beliefs and attitudes is the ultimate goal. In fact, I see the law as an educational tool. By pushing legislative ideas we're able to make our case not only to lawmakers but also to the broader public.

The Plague Of Gambling

A new national study says that four million problem gamblers nationally cost society an average of $3,000 apiece per year in unemployment benefits and the cost of hiring new workers. If you pro rate those numbers for Minnesota, that means there are 70,770 individuals affected by gambling in Minnesota. At a cost of $3,000 a person, that equals $212 million annually. (My understanding is those figures don't include all the other social costs related to gambling, such as divorce, crime and destruction of basic character in those addicted to gambling.)

Gambling is a silent plague because we don't always see its impact on the front page of the newspaper. However, as time goes on I think we'll see more problems associated with gambling. That's what history suggests.

Dangerous Attitudes

The National Marriage Project at Rutgers University released the results of a survey of high school seniors and their attitudes toward cohabitation. Nearly 60 percent agreed or mostly agreed with the view that it's a good idea to live together before marriage to test out the relationship. The evidence says just the opposite is true. If you cohabitate, you're 46 percent more likely to get divorced, once married, than non-cohabitators. Cohabitators are also likely to experience more problems in other areas, as well. We have a lot of work to do to re-establish a "marriage culture" in our society.

Real Black Hole

Last month the Minnesota AIDS Project called for an increase in funding of $10 million to fight the spread of the disease - a huge increase. What you find when actually examining the activities funded are conferences for transgender and gay men to explore their sexuality, and pornographic material in "safe sex" programs.

It's truly a black hole, with millions of dollars going to deeply offensive activities and, even worse, to promote messages that perpetuate the myth that there is such a thing as safe sex outside of monogamous, heterosexual marriage. The consequence is that more people, particularly young people, will contract AIDS/STDs and in some cases face a premature death.

Tom Prichard is president of the Minnesota Family Council.

Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota Family Institute
2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, www.mfc.org