Access to reproductive health care should be a right and not dependent on what state you’re living in. Research shows that U.S. women of reproductive age are sicker, more stressed, die younger, and have the highest rates of maternal deaths compared to women in other countries. Black women are nearly 3 times more likely to die than white women – all largely due to a lack of adequate reproductive health care.
Incredibly, 26 states have either completely taken away a woman’s right to a safe abortion, are waiting for judges to lift a block, or have imposed gestational limits when most women don’t even know they’re pregnant. Idaho wants to make it a crime with a 2-year imprisonment, if someone helps a person leave the state for an abortion. Not having open, adequate health care is putting people’s lives at risk every day, every hour, and every minute.
We need to message the issues at risk: birth control, safe and legal abortions, and open discussions with providers to ensure safe protocols are in place to protect a mother’s life. More than ever, the importance of getting out the vote during this upcoming election is crucial for women’s health, autonomy, and our very lives.
By Susan Salinger
Mr. LaLota (congressman for NY CD-1) voted for Mike Johnson as speaker of the house. Johnson is an extremist on the issue of choice: an adamant opponent of abortion, he holds that life begins at fertilization and favors a total ban on abortion, which he has described as “a holocaust.” In the past, Mr. Johnson threatened “hard labor” for doctors who perform abortions. VOTE HIM OUT.