by Kathleen Gaffney
Governor Kunin, I write to remind you that despite the fact that men cannot get pregnant as you stated in your last VTDigger column (though this biological fact is disputed by some today as is virtually everything these days) – there are many millions of women, like myself, who oppose the ending of a life in utero.
As a low-income turned middle-income Vermonter myself, I have always had the ability to choose whether or not to become pregnant throughout my life, abortion never having been remotely considered. Being responsible, I chose whether to be sexually active or not, and I chose what type of birth control to use and when. Further, since it obviously takes two to create life, males need to also be made part of the equation and taught to be responsible and accountable in preventing pregnancy as an “equal” partner once a decision is made to be intimate.
Young women should be empowered to learn about their reproductive functions, in order to be aware of when they are most likely fertile, as well as the converse. To murder a child unborn – particularly at later term in the pregnancy as VT does – is not “birth control”, it is abolition of an already extant life. Further, to end a child’s life based upon gender selection (as VT currently seeks to emblazon in our constitution in Proposition 5) is abhorrent and sexist. We can speculate that many future female’s (potentially feminist) lives will be wiped out based upon a preference for a couple to, but of course, birth a boy: the historically “preferred” gender, as was performed in China over decades.
Also, abolition of the filibuster was never considered over the centuries to be worthy of ending until the now “new, improved” democrat party sought to remove it as a means to an end. Decades ago, democrats such as Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi themselves and many others in the party praised its advantages in ensuring equity and preventing partisan politics. Governor, we have a multi-party system of governance in the U.S., and loathe other parties as you may choose, the filibuster should remain – lest, yes, “democracy” be LOST. A one party system is nothing less than a form of totalitarianism.
Let’s all be mindful that not all women and not all Vermonters share your views either about abortion or a one party system. Regardless of the party in control: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Have we not yet learned that throughout history?