Pocono Record Town Hall: Lifting the veil of politics on Roe v. Wade
Pocono Record readers are making their voices heard on the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade for a summer-long Town Hall prompt. Read on for their opinions.
The goal is to publish one anti and pro-abortion local view each week this summer, as often as responses allow. Want to participate in the conversation? Send letters to editor Ashley Fontones at afontones@poconorecord.com. Inflammatory language and hate-speech will not be accepted. Please include your name and the town you are writing from in your submissions.
Editor's note: In the first letter, reader Tim Sanders references "Islamic regimes of countries like Iran and Afghanistan" to provide a contrasting image of religious movements such as Catholicism and Judaism. Please note, there are differing views on abortion in Islam, Christianity and Judaism: some of which argue that abortion is permissible, while other views assert that it is not.
Under most interpretations of Islamic law, abortion is permitted within the first 120 days.
Iran passed highly restrictive abortion laws in 2021. Both Afghanistan and Iran permit abortions in the case of saving the carrying parent's life, or in the case of severe fetal abnormalities.
Learn more:Are abortion bans like Sharia? Not even close, say Muslims
Read last week's submissions:More Pocono readers voicing opinion on Roe overturn
Neither for nor against abortion
I am not writing to express an opinion for or against abortion, but I think every reader deserves to know why there is a party in Pennsylvania that wants to criminalize it and put more people in prison, as they have recently decided in the middle of the night with their vote on SB106 in Harrisburg.
In contrast to the Islamic regimes of countries like Iran and Afghanistan that have taken rights away from their people, here in Pennsylvania and across the country the scheme to criminalize abortion is not coming from religious leaders of the Catholic Church, the Jewish faith, or other beliefs, but rather from a dangerous group of extremists who have proven they will stop at nothing in their obsession to strip away Americans' fundamental freedoms.
And they are propped up by many of the nicest, most well-regarded elected officials you could meet at the county fair, who turn around and, for reasons known only to themselves, go to Harrisburg and vote in support of these abhorrent schemes, instead of standing up for the citizens of the Commonwealth.
As has been reported, the criminalization of abortion and control of women's bodies is only the first domino to fall, and there is no doubt in my mind that this cabal will succeed in destroying even more of our liberties, unless we realize that each one of us can actually take action and do something, in addition to casting our vote this November. We must use our voices to speak out, and join forces with others in the groups across the Poconos that are organizing to take action and advocacy. Together we can work to make sure we can be free to thrive in our communities, and that our future generations have the opportunity to live in freedom and prosperity.
Tim Sanders, East Stroudsburg
'Nothing in this Constitution provides for public funding of abortion, nor for any other right pertaining to abortion'
Passage of this amendment leaves every current Pennsylvania abortion law in place. This Amendment was passed by the PA Legislature in response to efforts by PA’s Abortion businesses to have the PA Supreme Court declare that abortion had “evolved” into a constitutional right - thus requiring Medicaid to fund elective abortions with taxpayer money.
The Amendment does not outlaw abortions - rather it prevents Abortion from being controlled by Judicial Fiat. By establishing the Constitution’s silence on Abortion, activist Judges are legally prevented from improper overreach.
Keeping the power to regulate abortion in the Legislature - rather than subject to the whims of the Court, keeps those who make our law representative of, and answerable to “the People”.
Ted Meehan, PA Pro-Life Coalition
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pocono Record readers talk politics and Roe v. Wade
