I testified in front of the Maine Judiciary Committee in favor of L.D. 780, a law that would amend the Maine State Constitution to enshrine the right to reproductive autonomy.

Here is a truth: I am the author of my life. That is most profoundly true with my health care. It is my body, my choice, my decision. Nowhere is this more profound than in my reproductive health, because those choices include the potential for a lifelong commitment to raising and caring for another human being. I believe it is morally wrong to bring a child into this world if I the lack skills and resources to raise it.

In fact, that core tenet of personal freedom was described in our Declaration of Independence, a document that was the first step towards autonomy from the autocracy of a parliamentary Christian monarchy that had robbed us of having a voice in our own destiny. Let me paraphrase a key section: It cannot be disputed that all people are given certain absolute rights that cannot be taken from us. Among these are life, the freedom to live according to our personal morals and values and the right to be the central authors of our life.

The Founders were saying we have the right to pursue the life that makes us happy. And today we are saying that includes such decisions that would determine how, when or if we take on the awesome task of bringing a life into this complicated and challenging world.

Jo Trafford
Portland

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