Friday June 24, 2022
The League of Women Voters of Bucks County believes in and continues to support a woman’s right to personal choice and the right to privacy as stipulated in Amendment 14 of the Constitution of the United States. As an ally of reproductive rights organizations, such as the Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition, we know that safe access to health care, including abortion, is essential to our democracy.
This is a very scary time for women and all people who may become pregnant. For anyone who experiences pregnancy, our basic freedoms depend on our ability to control our reproductive health. Our reproductive choices impact our physical and psychological well-being, our financial resources, and our capacity to gain and maintain employment. Not only is the right to a safe and legal abortion a matter of personal freedom, it’s also a major factor in the movements for racial and economic equality. Black, brown and low income communities already experience unfair barriers and limited access to adequate health care services.
True democracy depends on equal rights for all people. The attack we have seen on voting rights is an attack on democracy. The attack on reproductive choice is a continuation of silencing people in this country.
Currently we have a governor who is firmly committed to the principles of a woman’s right to choose. If not for the Governor and his veto pen, many restrictions that passed in our legislature would have been passed into law. If someone is elected who fails to support those same principles, there may be further limitations placed on health care access.
Thiselection cycle is particularly significant. On our ballot in November we will be choosing a new governor and lieutenant governor for our state, a new US senator, as well as PA state representatives and state senators. It is critical that we learn where candidates in all of these races stand on reproductive rights, and if they will actively support a woman’s easy access to affordable reproductive health care. Visit our online voter guide at vote411.org to find out where your candidates stand on this issue.
