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Report wrong on ballot issue
Aug 06, 2012 | 2319 views | 4 4 comments | 12 12 recommendations | email to a friend | print

Dear Editor,

I would like to write to clarify something that was reported in the paper after the election. Reporter Matthew Strother got it wrong when he reported that Georgia voters supported an amendment to the state constitution stating that life starts at conception and outlawing abortion.

This was not a statewide referendum but rather a question asked only on the Republican ballot. It is completely erroneous to report it otherwise. Personhood initiatives have failed in states around the country and no more emphatically than in our neighboring state of Mississippi.

These initiatives are out of step with the wishes of most, could cost the state dearly in legal costs and are a poor use of energy. We should all be working to improve access to preventive health care like birth control instead of finding new ways to deny women access to their basic health care rights.

There has been an all out assault on women’s rights this year in the legislature and it is a trend that I fear this misguided question, not referendum, only seeks to continue.

Chris Sloan

LaGrange



Comments
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3*Bob
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August 07, 2012
First of all access to healthcare is NOT a right. To say otherwise is foolish. To try and push this "war on women" idea is just a ploy by those on the left to win an election. The democrats have done more to hurt women than any president in the past saveral decades. Just look at unemployment records for women since Obama took office, look at rising healthcare cost, look at womens narrow minded view of equality that is being pushed by the left.

Just FYI a pregnancy is an issue which is very easy to prevent. Now unlike you I view this life as delicate and precious. It's not a womans right to give and take this life on a whim. And until those unborn are given a chance and choice it is the democrats who have advanced the war on women. The true rights of life that are being denied these go against everything America was built on.
tomstrong
|
August 08, 2012
Reply to Chris Sloan,

If you believe that unborn children have no rights, then say so. Don't obfuscate with platitudinous references to "women's health care".

The "personhood" initiatives are NOT about "womens rights", they are about the rights of unborn children.

Except in very rare instances, the termination of a pregnancy has nothing to do with "health care". Pregnancy is not a disease. If you believe that abortion is an acceptable form of birth control, then SAY SO, but don't call it health care. Because, if I might be permitted a redundancy, pregnancy is not a disease or a health problem. It is the beginning of a new human life.

Tom Weeks
memha2
|
August 10, 2012
In 2012,Georgia legislators passed HB 954, a "fetal pain bill" criminalizing abortions performed after the 20th week of pregnancy. The bill, which does not contain exemptions for rape or incest, has been referred to as the "women as livestock bill" by opponents. Representative Terry England made a comparison between women seeking abortions for stillborn fetuses to delivering calves and pigs on a farm.

dcaraway
|
August 06, 2012
Christopher, I am encouraged by your willingness to make sure that the record is stated both verbally and in print accurately. I appreciate your comments but I must disagree with your conclusion. First of all the Personhood initiatives have not failed across the country, these have been adopted by Arizona, Oklahoma and Virgina to date, other state legislatures are considering putting the proposal on the ballot, so lets put ALL the facts together to ensure we are making decisions and forming opinions based upon facts not feelings. Your final conclusion, that womens rights are under attack in the legislature seems a bit of a general statement. If you said that we as a people are under attack by a voracious federal goverment I would agree. Saying that there are people in our state legislature that want to eliminte womens rights does not seem logical, making the statement and having the data to back that statement up are two different things. However if your assertions are true and the facts support your statement then there is no place in goverment for that mentality. If you are purporting a party line then I would be dissapointed as you have always impressed me with your ability to reason and think your way to your own opinions, regardless of others. Christopher you have a great future ahead if you will continue to apply that skill, always, always look at both sides of an disagreement, be able to have inclusive discussions not divisive ones, do not allow yourself to be manipulated by others for their own means. Stand up for what you believe in...What You Believe In, and although I might disagree with you I will respect you and your position. Keep up the good work young man, remain thoroughly grounded and focused on the facts not popular opinion.
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