Letters: Pro-life means supporting life; New PA maps must be fair

Pro-life means supporting life

Although a majority of Americans support a woman’s right to reproductive freedom, several states are determined to make abortion illegal. Having been a college student in pre-Roe v. Wade days, I saw the sad results of “back alley” abortions. In order to avoid a “shot gun” wedding, a girl in my dorm bled to death after such an abortion. Therefore, I was relieved when women could choose when and with whom to have a baby. But now the era of safe and legal abortions may be ending; unfortunately, abortions will continue.

If abortion does become illegal, I hope those who claim to be pro-life will truly dedicate their resources and energy to really support life — not just for fetuses, but for pregnant women, mothers, and children who have already been born. Pregnant women, especially those who can’t afford to travel to states where abortion remains legal, will need health insurance and good prenatal care in order to reduce the high rates of premature births and infant mortality. Families will need paid leave and a social safety net that ensures adequate housing and food; children will need high quality early childhood education and medical care. Pro-life groups should prove their commitment to life by investing in children both before and after birth.

New PA maps must be fair

Regardless of political affiliation, voters overwhelmingly believe that gerrymandering is a problem, and that when it is done in a partisan way, it undermines the integrity of elections. Nearly all Pennsylvanians are strongly opposed to gerrymandering. In a poll conducted by RepresentUs, 88% of all Pennsylvania voters said congressional and legislative districts should be drawn in a fair way that does not benefit any political party. This is a foundation of our democracy.

The current maps take advantage of communities across the state for partisan gain. They should be scrapped and rebuilt from the ground up. The new maps must be fair – they should create districts that promote competition of ideas at all levels. They should be drawn to promote our natural geographic and cultural diversity, not water it down.

If our voices aren’t heard, we no longer have a democracy. Pennsylvania needs courage from everyone in the Legislature and the Legislative Redistricting Commission. Please let our represented officials know that we elected them to represent us, not for the purpose of garnering power for power’s sake. Ask them to demonstrate leadership on this issue and restore our faith in them and the process.

Listen to experts on COVID vaccine

Let’s fight against COVID, not each other.

Why are we still seeing COVID restrictions on our freedom of movement?

Because too many people listen to dumb advice and refuse to be vaccinated.

Why did my niece’s husband die from COVID?

Because he refused to be vaccinated.

But don’t make your decision based on my voice.

Here is some information from Science News, a very respected publication. For almost a century, Science News journalists have covered advances in science, medicine and technology for the general public. Founded in 1921, Science News has a mission to provide independent, unbiased coverage of science and give people the tools to evaluate the news and the world around them.

“The shots work, even against emerging variants. Many COVID-19 vaccines proved effective over the last year, particularly at preventing severe disease and death. ... That’s true even with the emergence of more transmissible coronavirus variants ...

“The shots are safe, with few serious side effects. With billions of doses distributed around the world, the shots have proved not only effective, but also remarkably safe, with few serious side effects.”

“We have so much safety data on these vaccines,” Kawsar Talaat, an infectious diseases physician at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in Science News. “I don’t know of any vaccines that have been scrutinized to the same extent.”

Please ... just get the shot!

And then maybe we can finally get back to our lives.