If you are anti-choice and celebrating the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, you have no place to argue the morality of abortion. While many have seen the death of Justice Ginsburg as a chance to overturn constitutionally justified law regarding a woman’s right to choose abortion, doing so would be devastating to women across the United States.
Contrary to the belief that restricting and banning abortion would lead to reduced rates, countless studies have shown that this only increases the number of unsafe abortions and the amount of women (or people who have female sex organs) who die from them.
Not only is it critical that access is maintained to safe abortion, there should also be policy put in place for more inclusive sex education in public schools and access to contraceptives, especially for those less privileged.
Additionally, if you align with the Republican Party, but are urging a new justice to be appointed by the current president less than two months before an election, take a moment to reconsider. As a party mainly rooted in traditional values, listen to the words of current Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell after the death of Justice Scalia eleven months prior to the 2016 election: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
If a replacement is appointed to the Supreme Court before the election it would be yet another devastating trench in an already divided nation.
And please, if you are anti-choice for the sole purpose of protecting life, wear a mask, it is not a political statement, it is an agreement to help keep people alive.
Kate Bick
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 9/29/20