Roe v. Wade

Letters to the editor, June 30 to July 6

Posted 6/28/22

Whether you applaud the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade or whether you are outraged by the intrusion of law on individual choice, let’s talk about it. Let’s explore …

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Roe v. Wade

Letters to the editor, June 30 to July 6

Posted

Whether you applaud the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade or whether you are outraged by the intrusion of law on individual choice, let’s talk about it. Let’s explore together, in this written facilitated space, reflections, opinions, hopes and fears of what a post-Roe world looks like, feels like, is like.

As this 50-year-old right has been negated nationally, are you up for attempting to reasonably and thoughtfully communicate?

Hope so. We’re looking for a variety of opinions and responses.

Send short reflections, artwork, photos, poetry, etc. to copyeditor@riverreporter.com.

Please include your name and the town or township in which you live.

‘Lysistrata’ for the 21st century

Oh women, sisters, ladies—whatever you want to be called—and the men who love you, put your pussy hats and placards away. Don’t take to the streets.

Take a page from the classics and go on strike in every possible way, from the bedroom to the workplace. Go on strike at the two or three jobs you are dragging yourself to just to get by in a country that has failed on health care, child care, housing, education. Go on strike against the SCOTUS Roe decision, which is a blow upon every American’s right to privacy. Go on strike against the tokenism that still pervades our politics.

As long as women have to wear white on the Hill to remind us of suffrage, we are still under the yoke of a society dominated by misogyny. Strike. Who will lead the charge, when the feminist movement has floundered in issues that have very little to do with the core of its origins:  equality under the law?  

March? Marches won’t change anything, and are generally reserved for the privileged who can take the time to not work, or can afford to travel. Strike! Until hardcore action is taken, feminists of all genders are just treading water in an icy killing sea as the vessel that carried their dreams sinks into oblivion. STRIKE.

Cynthia Nash

Milanville, PA/ Morningside Heights, NY

Legal access to abortion in PA will be protected

The Dobbs decision will go down as a shameful moment for our country and for the court. Today, five Supreme Court justices upended 50 years of settled law, and subjected the health and private lives of millions of American women to the whims of politicians.

As a result of today’s decision, every American’s personal freedoms now depend on the state in which they live. Here in Pennsylvania, decisions about your bodies will now be left to elected officials in Harrisburg, giving those politicians more power than women have in our commonwealth.

Let me be clear: For now, abortion remains legal in Pennsylvania. Our laws have not changed with this ruling; abortion is permitted through the 23rd week of pregnancy, and afterwards when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother. I plan to continue to defend doctors’ ability to practice medicine and women’s right to privacy against any efforts to enforce a defunct rule mandating women notify their husbands of their personal decisions.

Unfortunately, I can’t give that same assurance to the women in places like Ohio, West Virginia [or] Kentucky. Wheels are already in motion to ban abortion in more than half of our country. I can promise you that if patients travel from those states into Pennsylvania, I will fight to protect them and their doctors from extreme politicians attempting to illegally interfere.

While this decision has no immediate impact here, it opens the door for our legislature to ban or criminalize abortion by simply passing a law—because there are no longer federal protections. I will fight any attempt to erode women’s rights in our commonwealth.

To the doctors and patients in Pennsylvania who are worried about how this decision will impact them, know that the full force of my office is dedicated to protecting legal access to abortion in our commonwealth.

I will stand firm in protecting a woman’s right to choose—and anyone who tries to threaten or undermine the fundamental freedoms of Pennsylvania women will have to go through the Office of Attorney General first.

Josh Shapiro,

Pennsylvania state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate in PA

Harrisburg, PA

Roe v. Wade is not the key issue facing PA

Roe v. Wade is rightly relegated to the ash heap of history. As the abortion debate returns to the states, Pennsylvania must be prepared to lead the nation in being a voice for the voiceless.

While this decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a triumph for innocent life, it must not take our focus away from the key issues facing Pennsylvania families.

Pennsylvanians will not be distracted by the hysterics of the left, as they exploit this ruling as they try to fulfill their far-left agenda. As they struggle with all-time record-high inflation, the people care deeply about the price of gas and groceries, as well as out-of-control crime and good-paying jobs—which is exactly why I will prioritize these issues as their governor.

Doug Mastriano

Republican gubernatorial candidate in PA

Fayetteville, PA

Protecting human life, including after birth

One of the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church is that all human life is sacred, from the moment of conception until natural death, and it must be respected and protected… I am thankful that the majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have recognized and upheld the sanctity of human life.

For Catholics, respecting life, especially the unborn, is intrinsic to our identity as people of faith. While political and ideological divisions often drive us apart, we must remember that the sacred Scriptures call us to be one, reverencing every life that comes into our world. It is critical to note, however, that valuing human life is not simply confined to life in the womb. We must never dismiss or ignore our responsibility to care for, protect and defend our brothers and sisters from other serious threats to human life, including poverty, racism and oppression.

While already the largest private provider of social services in the United States, the Catholic Church must redouble its efforts and always stand ready to assist young women and couples who are facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies…

Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton provides educational, emotional and material support to expectant parents and operates Shepherd’s Maternity House in East Stroudsburg, which provides housing, care and assistance for pregnant women and their newborn babies. Along with so many other community agencies and programs, including, but not limited to, Saint Joseph’s Center, Friends of the Poor, Rachel’s Vineyard and the Pennsylvanians for Human Life, any mother needing assistance can receive life-affirming support.

As we strive to build a true culture of life in our nation, the Gospel of Matthew reminds us that our welcome into God’s eternity will be determined by our willingness to reverence, respect and serve the most vulnerable among us in whom Christ is present: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me’” (Matthew 18:5).

Bishop Joseph Bambera, Diocese of Scranton

Scranton, PA

A ‘grave step backward’ for reproductive rights

As a union of healthcare workers, we recognize that the right to an abortion is fundamental to reproductive health, overall health and bodily autonomy. 1199SEIU is appalled that the U.S. Supreme Court has erased half a century of legal precedent allowing people to make the most basic decisions about their bodies, lives and families. While much of the world is moving forward to secure greater reproductive rights, we have taken a tremendous step backward.

Large majorities of Americans support abortion rights. Yet the Supreme Court, stacked with extremist voices totally out of step with our nation’s values, has radically undermined the right of every person who can get pregnant to control their own bodies.

The ramifications of overturning Roe v. Wade are as gut-wrenching as they are predictable: there will be an immediate wave of abortion bans in states around the country as trigger laws go into effect. People will seek out alternative and dangerous ways of ending their pregnancies. Rape victims, including children, will be forced to carry to term. Those who can afford it will travel out of state or out of country for abortion procedures; those with the least financial means will have nowhere to go. The same politicians who herald the end of reproductive freedom will not raise a finger to improve pre- and post-natal care and ensure that health services are universally available.

This decision must be a glaring wake-up call to the dysfunction of our nation’s political life and the grave threat of authoritarianism to our democracy, our laws and institutions.

1199SEIU stands firmly behind the right to choose and we will continue to fight tooth and nail to preserve this most basic freedom. We call on Congress to codify abortion rights into federal law immediately.

George Gresham

President, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

New York, NY

Roe v. Wade, letters to the editor, Pennsylvania elections

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