University of Virginia Library

Anti-Abortion Group Files
Complaint Against Weekly

By MARGARET ALFORD

A University student filed a complaint
Tuesday against Virginia Weekly staff
members, alleging that the paper violated
the Virginia state abortion law last May.

Andrew J. Humm, a first-year man
representing a committee against
abortion, acted as complainant in the warrant
issued against Jeff Bigelow, a third-year
student, and Michael Brett, a second-year
student.

Mr. Humm is a member of the Right to Life
committee, a Charlottesville group which seeks
to end abortions "beginning at the local level."

Believing that the "hundreds being killed in
New York" creates as serious a situation as "the
hundreds being killed in Pakistan," the
8-member committee decided to make the
complaint "since the ad was obviously illegal."
Christian White, a second-year law student, is
legal advisor for the committee.

Mr. Bigelow, Managing Editor of the
Virginia Weekly, is currently appealing to the
Virginia State Supreme Court a conviction on
similar charges for an abortion referral ad
published in the paper last spring.

Four members of the Managing Board of the
Cavalier Daily, Thomas Adams, William Fryer,
Fred Heblich and Sam Graham, were issued
warrants on the same charge at that time but
were later acquitted.

Abortion referral ads have been published in
each issue of the Virginia Weekly since Mr.
Bigelow's April arrest. Mr. Humm feels that the
Right to Life committee has a "water-tight
case" due to the "obvious illegality" of the ads.
However, Mr. Bigelow states. "We are
determined that people should have the
information needed to make realistic decisions
about their own lives."

The current case will come before Judge
Stuart Head of the Albemarle County Court on
Oct. 15. Maximum sentence if convicted will be
one year in jail and $1000 fine.