Planned Parenthood abortions a tragedy
Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortions between 2014 and 2015, according to its most recent annual report. A Dec. 20 Bangor Daily News editorial urged that taxpayer dollars continue to be given to Planned Parenthood, stating that “abortions account for only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood services.”
The assertion by Planned Parenthood that abortion accounts for only 3 percent of its services that year, however, is a gross distortion of the facts. The Washington Post Fact Checker awarded “ 3 Pinocchios” to this figure as a “ significant factual error.”
Planned Parenthood’s 3 percent figure was calculated counting services for abortion, contraceptives, STD tests and lesser services equally, which Planned Parenthood states costs up $1,500 for a first trimester abortion.
If Planned Parenthood received an average of $1,000 for each of its 323,999 abortions, that would produce revenue of about $324 million, or 38 percent of the $863 million it reported as “Health Service Revenue, Grants and Reimbursements” in the annual report.
Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King also support giving taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. They may consider the taking of 323,999 innocent human lives a small matter. Some view the taking of one innocent human life to be a tragedy. Are there words capable of describing the killing of 323,999 innocent human lives?
Gerald Thibodeau
Brewer
Give employees more notice of business closing
Less than one month after Christmas, Macy’s announced it will close its location at the Bangor Mall this spring, and a liquidation sale starts next week. In just a few weeks, 65 people will be out of a job.
When did it become acceptable for a business to just close its doors without giving reasonable notice to its employees? We live in a time where we come across several different ways of communicating on a daily basis, yet employers seem incapable of giving a heads up that something may be going awry.
These families likely emptied out their accounts just a couple weeks ago, and now they are losing an income. Why is it that we spend so much time on our phones and computers but can’t take five minutes out of our day to warn our employees that our store is going under?
If Macy’s announced this week the store was closing, then it knew weeks, if not months, ago that it was in trouble financially. Why not give the employees a chance to send out applications elsewhere?
I’m unsure if it is because of a lack of communication or lack of manners, both of which would fall on the company’s management. Either way, this closing is another unfortunate event to strike the mall and Bangor residents, as well as those employees who now need to scramble even harder to put food on the table.
Emelynn Violette
Brewer
The responsible life
The simple life is appealing. It is good not to make too much of an imprint on the Earth, and it was interesting reading about the Palumbo/Bravesnow family and their choices. It is laudable that they are homeschooling their children, and I hope they are successful in that endeavor. From the broad smiles in their family picture, the family appears quite happy and content.
The part that disturbed me was their reliance on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and fuel assistance. They are apparently able to hold more remunerative jobs and provide for themselves without that assistance, but in order to have more time together, they have chosen not to. I take exception to my taxes and donations going to those who can support themselves fully but choose not to.
As a person who might have liked to have made those choices, I took a job that required me to travel a great deal and be away from my family and friends often, which was especially hard on holidays, but which allowed me to earn enough to take care of myself and save for retirement.
I volunteer at the local food bank and give as generously as I am able in money and time to those who are having difficulties. It’s wonderful that they share by giving time and food to others, and I hope they will continued to blessed with good health. It would be even more wonderful if they made choices that would allow them to fully support themselves and their family.
Martha B. Higgins
Trenton