Letter to Editor

Dear Editor,

Much of the media time this campaign season has been focused on the economy, but with the election just around the corner, we need to think about another issue that affects us all-reproductive health.

The candidates have completely different stances on this issue. The winner will have a huge impact on the cost of birth control, sex education programs, Supreme Court nominations and a woman’s right to choose.

Although Sen. John McCain likes to call himself a maverick, his record on women’s health so closely resembles the Bush administration’s record, it is difficult to discern between them. For the past 25 years, McCain has consistently voted against women’s health. According to the Planned Parenthood Web site, he voted for the Vitter Amendment in 2007 specifically to defund Planned Parenthood, the most trusted organization in the country for reproductive health care.

McCain also voted against requiring health plans to cover basic birth control and he opposes medically accurate comprehensive sex education programs. According to the Associated Press, McCain said he does “not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.”

The addition of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket shows how out of touch John McCain is with mainstream America. The Anchorage Daily News stated Palin said she is as “pro-life as any candidate can be,” which is demonstrated by her opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. Yet, Palin has done nothing to reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion in her own state of Alaska.

According to MSNBC.com, as chief executive, Palin has continued to seek additional funding for ineffective abstinence-only sex education programs. Common-sense programs like medically accurate sex education programs and family planning are essential to reducing the need for abortion, no matter which side of the pro-choice or pro-life spectrum you fall on.

The 2008 presidential election must be about moving forward, not backward. It must be about change, not about more of the same. But in choosing Palin, McCain has demonstrated that a McCain-Palin administration would be four more years no different than the last eight. It is incredibly important to take this information into account when deciding who to vote for this November.

Sincerely,
Suzanne Shaver