Supports women

I am new to the area, having moved here from a very red state less than a year ago. I was shocked when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, especially since those judges all said they would respect precedent while being vetted for the position. The Republican Party used to stand for small government, running our own businesses and adhering to our values. The government is always going to be too big to fit in my doctor’s office. I do not want it there. I am aware that some people believe life begins at conception; that is a religious belief. As a minister, I am very aware of the power of those beliefs and I hold them (forgive me) sacred. It is not science, though, and facts trump my personal, emotional truth every time.

This issue is a very personal one for me. I am pro-choice, I was raped in the 7th grade and got pregnant. In that moment, it was important to me that I had a choice. Mine would have been to protect the pregnancy, but I miscarried. The whole country loses when women do not have control over our own bodies, when we are sidelined and made lesser citizens than the males we live with and love. If we also lose the right to contraceptives, as has been suggested, the country will lose half the work force.

Please vote for candidates who support a woman’s right to choose. Empowering women empowers business owners. It allows for healthy, equal partnerships in marriages. We cannot afford to quash half of our human resources. We cannot afford to go backwards in time.

Kathleen Sibley,

Gettysburg