Restore abortion coverage
I am a Bowdoin student and member of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Maine is on the cusp of joining 17 other states in expanding access to abortion for low-income women. The three abortion providers in the state are suing the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to restore abortion coverage for women who qualify for MaineCare. If the providers win their lawsuit against the state, MaineCare will cover abortion.
This would be an important step in ensuring that all women have real choices about their health care. Although Maine has a relatively healthy climate for reproductive rights, there is still room to move forward.
As a college student, I feel lucky to have resources for an abortion, should I need one. But that shouldn’t be a privilege. It should be a right.
Without access, there is no choice. Women who have health care through MaineCare deserve every option if facing an unplanned pregnancy. I support the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Maine Family Planning and the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center in this suit.
Julia Mead
Brunswick
Millennials work toward common good
Despite the outcome of Super Tuesday, I am inspired by the energy spent by young voters on the Bernie Sanders campaign. I realized the organizing power of millennials during my participation in the Occupy Maine movement from 2011 to 2013, when I met many informed and passionate peers. Millennials are concerned about economic and racial inequality, employment, student debt and pollution, but the Democratic and Republican parties don’t speak to the issues.
I am really excited to build coalitions of young people from all different backgrounds and opinions. For young people facing a bleak future, the desire to act for the common good is better than apathy. The unification of millennials began with the Occupy movement and continues through Sanders’ presidential campaign. Millennials will have to keep the activist momentum going through community organizing and local control to fill the void left by the Democratic Party.
Holly Seeliger
Portland
Americans will benefit from carbon tax
Travis Marshall, a Unity College student, in a Feb. 24 Bangor Daily News letter to the editor expressed his concern for the environment, climate change, environmental policies related to climate change and the potential effect of such policies on his hometown in Connecticut. He’s worried that adopting environmentally friendly policies will be too expensive and unrealistic in his hometown, and he fears his town will be “left in the dust.”
There is optimistic news: Citizens Climate Lobby has a market-based, revenue-neutral carbon fee proposal developed by former Secretary of State George Shultz, who served during Ronald Reagan’s administration. The plan is rather simple. It places a steadily rising fee per ton on carbon emissions and returns all dividends to individuals equally. It is predictable, includes border adjustments and will stimulate job creation and new technologies.
The Citizens Climate Lobby recently commissioned a study by the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis that found 54 percent of households and 59 percent of individuals nationally will experience a net financial benefit as a result of this policy. And this doesn’t include any of the health and environmental benefits of reduced greenhouse gases. Households in the highest economic quintile will have the least benefit as a result of their overall increased spending on energy and goods.
I encourage all students and faculty to become familiar with Citizens Climate Lobby and its policy. It speaks clearly to their concerns and mission.
Connie Potvin
Hampden
Telemedicine abortion a model for care
We commend Maine Family Planning’s expansion of telemedicine abortion care, which can be a model for other states. At a time when so many lawmakers are working to limit women’s access to abortion care, it is encouraging to see this expansion, which will help women in Maine get the safe, quality reproductive health care they need.
Providing medication abortion via telemedicine is safe and effective, and it improves access to timely health care. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has determined that medication abortion “can be provided safely and effectively via telemedicine with a high level of patient satisfaction.”
In one study, telemedicine patients said they particularly valued being able to receive abortion care at clinics closer to their homes. This is especially important for Maine women: According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 61.3 percent of Mainers live in rural areas.
Maine Family Planning has set a positive example of how to support women’s access to high-quality health care. We hope other states will soon follow suit.
Jessi Leigh Swenson
Senior policy counsel
Reproductive Health Programs
National Partnership for Women and Families
Washington, D.C.
TPP a bad deal for U.S.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which awaits approval from Congress, is the largest ever trade agreement. For seven years, trade advisors representing the business interests of 11 nations and the U.S. negotiated this trade pact in secret. It will allow corporations to outsource more jobs and threaten food safety standards. The investor-state dispute settlement provision threatens to undermine U.S. and state sovereignty. Under this provision, corporations can sue governments for laws that “restrict trade” and threaten expected future profits. The nongovernmental tribunals that hear theses cases make decisions that overrule federal and state laws.
For example, Canada and Mexico sued the U.S. government over a law that required country of origin labels on meat products, claiming it violated World Trade Organization rules. Last December, the World Trade Organization approved more than $1 billion in sanctions against the U.S. over the labeling. Congress repealed the meat labeling law and the sanctions were dismissed. So meat from Canada and Mexico will no longer be labeled as such.
Despite the obvious harm caused by past trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, President Barack Obama’s administration has made passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership one of its highest priorities.
Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Rep. Bruce Poliquin have not publicly stated how they will vote. They are hearing from corporations. Now is it the time to let them know what we think.
Bob Lodato
Charleston