Letters: Abortion access helps break cycle of poverty; Casino would harm community

Abortion access helps break cycle of poverty

What mother doesn’t want her children to have a good life?

The evidence is overwhelming: banning abortion will negatively impact women, their families — and the economy more broadly — making providing a good life a whole lot harder for women in 26 states.

The No. 1 reason women give for having an abortion is financial. Denying abortion care creates economic hardship. An unwanted pregnancy decreases women’s college graduation by 20% and hinders employment and earning prospects by 40%. (By contrast, delaying motherhood by just one year increases wages by 11%.)

While politicians focus narrowly on subjective moral issues, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and 154 distinguished economists, have spoken out about the hard financial truths. Overturning Roe will be “very damaging” to the economy and “set women back decades.”

The Turnaway Study examined the effects of receiving versus being denied a wanted abortion on women and their children. Those refused abortion care were four times more likely to live in poverty compared to women who accessed care.

In my three decades with Women Infants and Children (WIC), I counseled hundreds of rural families, seeing firsthand the challenges of raising children on minimum wage.

Financial adversity is generational, impacting educational attainment, earnings and crime. Access to abortion helps break the cycle of poverty — and the hardships of single motherhood.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, says abortion bans mean “thousands of lives saved.” What kind of lives?

Reproductive rights are on the ballot this November. Vote for candidates who will protect abortion access.

Casino would harm community

I am writing about the proposed casino at the Nittany Mall. I am opposed to this casino and know firsthand how harmful gambling can be for a person and their loved ones. Please shine the light on the pitfalls of casinos in a college town and to the community it involves.

Quite a contrast

Last week Boris Johnson was forced to resign as Prime Minister of the UK by members of his Conservative Party. What were his transgressions that forced him to resign? He was guilty of hosting a party while the nation was on a strict lockdown. He also admitted to lying about what he knew concerning the past misbehavior of a minister whom he had appointed to a high government office. He was also guilty of lying in the past. As a result, top officials in the Conservative Party resigned their positions as did many others, causing Johnson’s resignation.

That was quite a contrast to what happened in the U.S. When Trump lost the 2020 presidential election but refused to accept it, he lied saying he was cheated, and the election was rigged. To further his cause, he even took a role in the insurrection of January 6. And this was just one of the many lies Trump told while in office.

What did senior and other members of the Republican Party do? Did they call for him to resign as leading Republicans did in 1973 when Nixon was forced from office or what occurred in Britain today? No, many have perpetuated Trump’s lies. Many Republicans running for office have not disavowed Trump’s lies but rather have sought his endorsement.

The U.S. used to be the beacon of freedom for the rest of the world. Seems to me we have taken a back seat when compared to Great Britain.

This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 6:00 AM.