Dear
Editor,
On January 22, America will mark the 35th anniversary of the
Supreme
Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade. As a graduate student and
one of four women in my family, it has been extremely important for me
to know that Roe v. Wade allows me to make my own decisions.
I am
proud to support the values of freedom and privacy this decision
represents–but, after nearly eight years of an anti-choice president, I
must do more than say I am pro-choice. I must vote pro-choice. Many
people think this issue does not apply to them, which could not be
further from the truth. The erosion of our individual rights affects us
all.
Elections matter when it comes to protecting a woman’s right to
choose.
Six presidential candidates – including Mike Huckabee, John McCain,
Mitt
Romney, and Fred Thompson– said they support overturning Roe
altogether. Worse yet, these same politicians not only oppose safe,
legal abortion, but they also oppose improving women’s access to birth
control, which is the best way to help prevent unintended pregnancy and
thus reduce the need for abortion. I am tired of this divisive
hypocrisy, as I am sure we all are.
The vast majority of voters
oppose allowing politicians to interfere in
our personal and private
decisions. In 2008, we must vote for pro-choice
leaders at all levels of
government, from the State Assembly to the
White House. Do not look back
when it is too late and wish you had done
more.
Sincerely,
Renee Pasciak
Milwaukee