October 10, 2013
Local News & Culture Marina del Rey
Westchester
Free S a n ta M o n i c a Photo by Jorge M. Vargas, Jr.
LMU PROFESSOR ANNA MURACO has been one of the most outspoken members of the university’s faculty regarding its Board of Trustees’ decision to eliminate abortion coverage from its employees' insurance plans.
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LMU Board of Trustees removes abortion coverage from healthcare insurance By Gary Walker Moving in the direction that other Catholic universities have taken over the last several months, the Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees voted Oct. 7 to eliminate elective abortion coverage from its employees’ health insurance plans. In a joint statement, LMU President David Burcham and Kathleen Hannon Aikenhead, chair of the Board of Trustees, explained the board’s decision and delved into some of the history surrounding this controversial topic. “When we learned that LMU had, for the first time, been given the option to exclude elective abortions from its principal health insurance plans, we decided that the governing board of LMU should address this difficult issue,” Hannon Aikenhead and Burcham wrote. “We did so because we take very seriously our fiduciary role as guardians of LMU and, particularly, upholding its Jesuit/Marymount and Catholic identity, mission, history and tradition. “We acknowledge that the issue of abortion is extremely complicated and encompasses varied and competing values that often leave no one happy,” they continued. “Nonetheless, we believe that the right to life and dignity for every human being is a fundamental part of Catholic beliefs (all other rights flow from this primary right to life and dignity), and that this vision needs to be evidenced in LMU’s policies and procedures. “Thus, the board decided that LMU’s principal insurance plans in 2014 will not provide coverage
for elective abortions. All other aspects of reproductive health coverage will remain the same. We will continue to cover therapeutic abortions, contraception and other forms of reproductive care mandated by the state of California. The rates for the principal LMU plans will be set based solely on the benefits provided under those plans.” The Argonaut first previewed in its Oct. 3 issue the university’s intent to remove the abortion coverage from its employees’ insurance and subsequently, the topic has generated national attention. Over the last three weeks, some of the university’s professors have mobilized to counter the university’s plan, which was first announced Aug. 15. Over 100 faculty and staff members signed a petition asking the trustees to refrain from removing the elective reproductive portion of their insurance prior to the board meeting. In lieu of the eliminated abortion coverage, the board said it will offer another insurance option to its employees that will cover elective abortions, called a third party administrator plan. “The (plan) will be selected very shortly in order to facilitate an alternative,” the board wrote. The third party-managed plan will cover elective abortions, but employees will pay a “slightly higher premium,” Hannon and Burcham said in their joint statement. “The employee will be responsible for the entirety of the cost associated with this additional coverage and, thus, no LMU dollars will be used in paying for this additional coverage,” they wrote. Jessica Osorio, who graduated from LMU (Continued on page 8)
Venice
Local council votes down motion requesting alcohol enforcement unit By Gary Walker A motion asking Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin to create an alcohol enforcement and compliance unit for the Venice area was soundly rejected by the Venice Neighborhood Council at its meeting last month. The council’s Neighborhood and Land Use and Planning committees had met in a joint session earlier and approved the motion by an 8-2 vote, but when it came before the neighborhood council, it garnered only one vote from board vice president Marc Saltzberg, with 15 against and two abstentions. In the beachside enclaves of Venice and Santa Monica, two communities that see a high rate of tourism annually, there are an equally high number of outlets that sell alcohol, according to the
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Westside Impact Project. In Venice, there are 106 businesses licensed to sell liquor, beer and wine within the seaside town of 3.17 square miles, which equates to 33 outlets per square mile on average. The county average, according to Los Angeles County officials, is 16 alcohol outlets per square mile. In addition, Venice has 32 alcohol outlets per 10,000 residents, while Council District 11, which includes Venice, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Playa del Rey and Westchester, has 21.5 per 10,000 residents. The Westside Impact Project is a Los Angeles County campaign that is seeking to lower the number of alcohol-related problems in Santa Monica and Venice. “The point of the motion was that someone should do inspections (of these establishments) and enforce the conditions of operations,” Saltzberg (Continued on page 11)
•This Week•
Page 15 Denise A. Gray (right), who works for artist Gary Baseman, consults with a young attendee at the opening for Baseman’s new exhibit, “Mythical Homeland,” now running at Shulamit Gallery in Venice.