Such nosy neighbors as Gladys Kravitz shouldn't make your medical decisions. Vote no Aug. 2.
Audiences loved Gladys Kravits, the nosy, meddlesome neighbor peeking through her living room curtains at Darrin and Samantha Stephens’ home in the 1960s sitcom “Bewitched.”
Kravitz, portrayed by the late Alice Pearce, was obsessed with the happenings next door— a recognizable archetype played to comedic excess to the delight of viewers.
Few, though, would want to live next to such a voyeur, let alone have her sitting on the examination table next to them while making health care decisions. But that’s precisely what our Aug. 2 special election has in store — a government minder cast in the image of Gladys Kravits.
At stake is any sense of privacy or the ability to make decisions for ourselves, and that’s not funny in the least.
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The amendment vote will determine whether the state constitution will recognize Kansans’ say-so over their own bodies. It comes in response to a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that said the right to abortion — the right to bodily autonomy — is protected by the Kansas Constitution.
The vote paves the way for a total ban on abortion in Kansas. It is an explicit effort to eliminate all constitutional protections for reproductive freedom in favor of grievous government overreach into personal medical decisions.
No one should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will or face the life-altering consequences of being denied essential health care. Forced pregnancy makes it more difficult to escape poverty. It can derail education plans. It can make leaving an abusive partner even more dangerous than it is now.
The irony here is Gladys and her ilk claim that they want government off our backs, yet they are perfectly willing to place government firmly between women and their doctors. No one should be making your medical decisions except you and your doctor.
Opponents of this measure should place Gladys peering through curtains on every yard sign under the heading, “Your health could be is her business.”
So please, vote “no” on the amendment.
All Kansas voters can cast a special election ballot, regardless of political affiliation. Independent or unaffiliated voters can vote in the election without joining a political party.
The final day for new voters to register for the special election is July 12, and the final day to request an advance mail ballot is July 26.
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It’s difficult to imagine a more important vote in the past 30 to 50 years. If Gladys’ government mandate passes, we might as well have doctor’s offices made of glass and medical charts posted on Facebook.
There’s a reason people say that fences make for good neighbors. A measure of privacy acts as a kind of social glue that holds us together as a society that values individual liberty. Nosy neighbors should be kept at a distance and shouldn’t be given the power to make personal medical decisions for us.
A television sitcom is one thing, but actually having to live under Gladys’ or some bureaucrat’s disapproving gaze, would amount to an absolute horror show.
Micah Kubic is the executive director of the ACLU of Kansas.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Nosy neighbors shouldn't make your medical decisions in Kansas
