Women won’t accept attack on equality
Alabama. Texas. Louisiana. Florida. Oklahoma. Idaho. Kentucky. Wisconsin. Missouri. North Dakota. South Dakota. Kentucky. Mississippi. These are places I will not visit. These are places I will not spend time or money. These are places that will be economically broken by the rise of right-wing politics because they have already been morally broken by their leaders. These are places where, as a woman, I am not a full citizen, with the rights and autonomy granted to the other half of the population.
Reproductive rights are basic healthcare rights. There is no similar restriction on healthcare for men. As women, do we not deserve the same? Are women to be punished, economically, emotionally and physically, for being sexual human beings? Are women and girls to be punished for being victims of abuse? Are women to be punished for having medical issues that make pregnancy dangerous? Are women to be punished for having ambitions and dreams? Is that the intention of the Supreme Court conservatives? Men are not subject to such punishment. As women, do we not deserve the same?
To quote Martin Luther King, Sr. (Father of Dr. Martin Luther King) “I don’t care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it.” As women, many of us have lived with a system of misogyny and discrimination for a very long time. We have fought for change, and have seen our efforts rewarded, albeit slowly. Now we see a return to a society in which our hard-won equality is under attack. As women, we won’t accept this, and must use the powers we possess. Use your power to write letters, speak out, organize. Use your power to donate to candidates who are running against Republicans, to take your business to companies and states that are pro-choice. Most importantly, use that power we all possess: Vote.
Ruthanne Harrison,
Richmond
Maybe Dred Scott ruling no longer worst decision Supreme Court ever made
Does anyone remember Dred Scott? Mr. Mitchell, my eighth-grade history teacher, illustrated this pre-Civil War dispute by drawing Dred’s hat on the blackboard — a horizontal line cutting an upright half-circle. Even though Dred, originally a slave, was granted freedom when he crossed into the north, the Supreme Court ruled that he was a slave when he returned to the south. The decision has been called the worst in the history of the Court.
Now that Roe is dead and states will set their own rules, we can anticipate a host of divisive, jurisdictional issues that will land ultimately in the Supreme Court. Is a woman who crosses a state line to get an abortion subject to prosecution when she returns? How about those who help and advise her? Can state governments confiscate mailed drugs that are perfectly legal in other states and Federally approved for use? Look for chaos and rancor that might rival pre-bellum America.
How have we reached a point where a Supreme Court ruling is analogous to the support of slavery? Maybe the Dred Scott ruling is no longer the worst decision the Court has ever made.
Michael Jones,
Brunswick
SCOTUS failed us all
No document written by a bunch of white guys 237 years ago, however enlightened, can be strictly interpreted to the extent that contemporary language and concepts are beyond consideration and expect it to remain a useful document. If not a living document, it’s a dead document.
Elasticity is its genius, lost with strict interpretation devoid of regard for current, salient facts to discern what is fair and right in the present day, and most embodies the Founding Fathers’ democratic intentions.
Long-held common practices of a modern society, which 60% favor, don’t need to have a 100-plus year history of public affirmation and social acceptance before they have legitimacy.
The court could have ruled Mississippi’s ban to be a state health and safety issue in their domain, as long as its sole intent was not to obstruct a woman’s choice, preserving the status quo for further scrutiny. We need judges, learned, exceptional critical thinkers, not robo-judges who craftily relegate high-impact issues to the states to avoid explaining to America.
The deed is done. Two questions will be fought in courts across the country. Questions deserving of answers. Is abortion a right? Is a fetus a person?
The narrow thinking that gave us this decision will permeate all important decisions in our towns, schools and state, until we put broad-minded, tolerant candidates from both parties in office and local positions of influence.
More than legalizing or prohibiting abortion, this is about your right to choose — when to start a family, whom you can love, whom you can marry, how you conduct your affairs — without undue interference. This takes more than voting to correct. It’ll take loud, persistent local action by informed citizens who stand up, speak out and take responsibility to act.
Sincerely and with due respect to those whose opinion differs from mine,
Jane Card,
Kennebunk
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