Volume CIV, Number 8
University of Southern .California
Tuesday, January 23,1990
‘Day-after pill’ safe, university study says
By Dave Banks
Staff Writer
A pill that has been touted as an abortion alternative and has anti-abortion and pro-choice activists engulfed in a war of rhetoric, has been found to be safe thus far in a study of more than 300 women,
university researchers said Monday.
The university research team, headed by Drs. David Grimes and Daniel Mishell of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at County / USC Medical Center, have spent more than three years testing RU-486, the so-called "day-after pill."
The drug is used abroad, where it is sometimes called the "French pill," and potential marketing in the United States is the focal point of a new controversy about the next generation of abortion and family planning methods.
The university is the only institution
Plav bait!
Michael Kim / Dally Trojan
Kevin Coetner, star of the movie “Field of Dreams,” shows off his throwing arm during the MTV Rock ‘n’ Jock Diamond Derby softball game, held Sunday at Dedeaux Field.
Fisher qallety
Armand Hammer asks to buy back art
By Dave Hernandez
JUUl Wilier
A response to an offer by billionaire industrialist Armand Hammer to buy back a set of paintings he donated to the university 25 years ago has not been finalized, pending an appraisal of the works' worth and other considerations, university officials said Monday.
"(Hammer's) offer was made in good faith and like any other offer, we have to consider it/' said Selma Holo, director of the Fisher Gallery.
The university has sought the advice of California Attorney General John Van de
Kamp as to whether there are any legal problems regarding the proposal, Holo said.
"If for some reason we're advised by the attorney general against the proposal, we'll stop taUdng (with Hammer)," she said.
Hammer, president of Occidental Petroleum, could not be reached for comment Monday.
The offer, made nearly six weeks ago, is reportedly an open bid to pay the "market price" for 49 vintage 15th through 17th century paintings that are currently stored in the university's Fisher Gallery.
(See Hammer, page 3)
Pro-choice rally marks anniversary
By Paul Malcolm
Staff Writer
Coat hangers, signs and a T-shirt on Tommy Trojan greeted students Monday morning as a reminder by pro-choice activists of the 17th anniversary of Roe us.Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
The coat hangers, affixed with the message "NEVER AGAIN!" and the date of the case, Jan. 22, 1973, were placed on door knobs, in elevators and on Tommy Trojan by a handful of students, said
(See Rally, page 13)
USC Plaza ’ offers new shops, hotel
By Arlene Relevo
Staff Writer
A proposed project that will turn the Felix Chevrolet Used Cars lot and the lot that Fat-burger sits on into a four-acre redevelopment project called "USC Plaza" is currently in its planning stages, a university official said Monday.
"USC Plaza" will be used primarily for commercial and retail spaces, office spaces and a hotel, said Jennifer Barrera, assistant project manager for the Hoover Redevelopment Project.
"The plans are not fixed yet," Barrera said.
The plan, estimated at $1.5-million, is a venture by the Figueroa Corridor Associates, which is composed of the USC Real Estate Development Corporation and two other companies, Barrera said.
"(This is) the biggest project that the Hoover Community Redevelopment Project has ever had," Barrera said. "The project will offer lots of jobs for the people in the community."
Only a verbal commitment between Felix Chevrolet Company and the USC Real Estate Development Corporation has been reached, said Nickolas Sham-mas, owner of Felix Chevrolet. However, Shainmas estimated the sale of the property to the corporation to go through within die week.
(See Plaza, page 6)
currently experimenting with the drug in the United States, said Richard Cox, a research spokesman. The study is currently on hiatus due to lack of availability of the drug, research officials said.
While the United States struggles for a consensus in the abortion debate, in Europe more than 30,000 women have successfully used the drug, which was developed in France five years ago, that induces menstruation and can end pregnancies without surgery.
RU-486's active ingredient is a synthetic hormone called mifepristone that works against the female hormone progesterone. Progesterone prepares the uterus to receive and hold fertilized eggs. However, RU-486 blocks the hormone and causes the uterine wall along with the developing fetus to disintegrate.
The pill blurs the distinction between contraception and abortion. While the drug acts similar to an intrauterine device (IUD) by preventing an egg from attaching to the uterine wall, it can teminate a pregnancy up to eight weeks after an egg has been fertilized.
"Anytime you can substitute a pill or medication for a surgical technique, you're saving lives," said Joan Babbitt, a Planned Parenthood volunteer. Babbitt said she looks forward to having the pill available in the United States.
(See Pill, page 3)
In Brief
World: Opposition obtains permission to join new Cabinet
EAST BERLIN — Communist Premier Hans Modrow agreed Monday to open his Cabinet to the pro-democracy opposition, and former leader Egon Krenz apologized for his role in past secret police operations.
Modrow and Krenz spoke during negotiations on East Germany’s future government with the opposition groups, which immediately took up Modrow’s offer.
Nation: President affirms anti-abortion convictions
WASHINGTON — President Bush assured tens of thousands of anti-at trtion demonstrators Monday that “this president stands with you,” as both foes and supporters of legalized abortion marked the 17th anniversary of the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision.
Bush declared a “deep conviction” against the ruling, which legalized abortions, in a speech by telephone to a crowd near the White House.
From the Aeeocleted Press
Index
		......... 4
Security Roundup.....		6 ........ 6
Life/Arte...................		......... 7
		
.A. stages host three ‘dances’
Life / Arte, page 7