Letters to the editor for May 13
Thank you to Medic 1
Three weeks ago we called Medic 1 for a call to our home for a potential heart issue. We live close to the South Bay Fire Department and the fire engine was here within five minutes, followed shortly by the medic truck from the Lilly Road location, and then a vehicle from, I believe, Boston Harbor.
I want to commend all these individuals for their sense of urgency, and their professionalism and courtesy to both my husband and me. All is well at our home, but many, many thanks to the Medic 1 group of folks. They are truly a great and vital group of individuals.
Bonnie J. Schmanke, Olympia
Men have a responsibility for pregnancy too
Why does the abortion discussion only talk about women? Men are at least as responsible as women for the creation of an embryo. Why are they exempt from the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy? It costs between $10,000 and $30,000 to have a hospital birth. Who pays? A woman’s life can be completely altered: no more education, no job, reduced ability to carry through with her life’s plans, permanent health consequences, and, yes, perhaps death or disability.
Any woman seeking an abortion who is unable get one should register the father of her fetus with the state so that he might provide resources to the woman. By contributing financially and socially to the life he has created, he will share in the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. He has helped create an embryo that becomes the burden of only the woman. I think we used to call this shared responsibility “fairness”: as in “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
Judy Rogers, Olympia, retired woman’s health care specialist
The U.S. Supreme Court is the enemy of Americans
When Texas made it legal for bounty hunters to stalk abortion providers, the Supreme Court pretended not to notice. When Justice Thomas’s wife conspired with President Trump to overturn the 2020 election and Thomas voted to hide her texts from the Jan. 6 Committee, the court said nothing.
Now that we know justices Kavanagh, Barrett, and Gorsuch lied during their confirmation hearings — piously citing Roe v. Wade as “settled precedent” while GOP Senators such as Susan Collins piously pretended to believe them — the Court says nothing. But when some patriotic staff member leaked proof that the Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, the Court is outraged! “Hunt down that person!” is their righteous cry!
The once-honored Supreme Court, now an enforcement arm of Trump’s Republican Party, has become the enemy of the American people. The hour is very late for American democracy, but there is still a way to save it. That is. …
Never again vote for any Republican candidate for any office whatsoever, no matter how sincerely they proclaim they love America, education, freedom, rights, rule of law, whatever. Even if they really believe it, they too will be sucked into the Black Hole of Trumpworld if they get in office.
This isn’t just sweet revenge against Republicans. If Washington can get a Democratic supermajority in our legislature, legislators can launch a ballot measure putting women’s right to choose abortion in our state constitution. Nationwide, a Senate Democratic supermajority can pass a federal law protecting those rights.
David H. Milne, Olympia