Scare tactics on Amendment 4 don’t correspond with the realities of abortion | Opinion
Skilled at fear
Anytime abortion with no doctor?
Nonsense! Scare tactics rarely correspond with fact.
Current law encourages back alley abortions, anytime and without a doctor. Amendment 4 places all decisions as to abortion — whether, when and where — with the woman and her doctor, where they belong. Their medical and moral decisions should not be confused or countered by religious or political convictions of others, particularly of those wielding the powers of the state.
At common law, abortion was prohibited only after the woman was “quick with child,” that is, the stage at which movements of the fetus were felt. That principle, reached by judges charged with implementing the rule of law, worked for centuries and far better than the dictates of legislators toadying for the votes of religious extremists today.
Government should have no role in matters of freedom and personal responsibility.
R. Thomas Farrar,
Miami
Marijuana laws
Amendment 3 would legalize the possession of marijuana in Florida. Marijuana is not a harmless substance. We know that using it can have serious health consequences. Due to a lack of research, these consequences can go far beyond what is known.
The only rationale that can be used to justify legalization of marijuana is that alcohol is legal. Alcohol is far and away this country’s biggest drug problem and overwhelms our understanding and level of health problems from marijuana.
One generally can’t go to jail for possession of alcohol, but under current law, one can for possession of marijuana.
John Falcone,
Palmetto Bay
Truest colors
Regarding the presidential election, 2024 is the year to not be red or blue, but rather, to be red, white and blue.
We must think more carefully about the future of our great democracy, so that our children and grandchildren are able to be part of a country that upholds the values of our Constitution.
Lois Kahn,
Coral Gables
Gloomy outlook
What will you do if Sen. Rick Scott ever gets the chance to implement his plan to “sunset” Social Security?
Just because Scott hasn’t mentioned it much this year, doesn’t mean he’s changed his plans.
Will you need to return to work? Or will your kids feed and house you, your pets and your mate? Can they pay your phone bill? Put gas in your car and pay the insurance? Will they buy your medications if Scott decides to “sunset” Medicare also?
Talk to your family now about what will happen if you ever lose your promised Social Security and Medicare benefits.
To prevent a senior tsunami from crashing on adult children’s doorsteps all across America, ask Scott to work on changes to keep Social Security solvent without benefit cuts or “sunsetting.” See what he says. Also, ask his Democratic opponent in the race, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Numerous Republicans, including the GOP budget committee, have recommended cuts for several years.
Make your plan now. We’ll all need one if Scott and the GOP win.
Cindy McClure,
Fort Myers
Change the climate
We are a nation in crisis. Hurricane Helene has ravaged the Southeast, leaving countless communities ruined. Millions are without power, hundreds are still missing and more than 200 people have died. Families are struggling to rebuild amid the rubble of their old homes and neighborhoods. Historic levels of flooding and rainfall have been recorded.
How many times must a record be broken for legislators to admit there is a damning pattern?
Countless scientists have explained why these storms are intensifying so drastically. Climate change is not a problem defined by polar bears or coral reefs. Human lives are at stake.
Everything we depend on stands in the perilous path of destruction, from our national economy to the homes that house our families. Regardless of political affiliation, we all have places and people we want to protect.
If climate change poses such immediate dangers to us, what devastation awaits our children in the world they will inherit?
These sentiments must burn in our minds as the election approaches. Our choices at the polls will determine whether we take timely action to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, or whether we fail to act at all.
Giovanna Santo,
Miramar
Similar sabotage
Last week, special counsel Jack Smith revealed a 165-page legal brief regarding former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election.
What is the difference between what Nicholas Maduro did in Venezuela’s recent election and what Trump tried to do in the 2020 election here?
In both cases, it is subversion of and disdain for democracy. Just because it failed in one case, doesn’t make it any less seditious.
Frank Prasifka,
Kyle, TX
Connecting Miami
In the Oct. 2 letter, “Local winners,” the authors nominated Meg Daly for a well-earned “Local Winner” for her proactive passion in the success of Miami’s Underline concept.
With Eulois Cleckley, who has public transportation experience, as the new chief executive officer of The Underline, my wish is that this project seizes the challenge to continue excelling and connects across the Miami River with the varied customs and cultures of Miami-Dade County’s northern neighborhoods.
Don Deresz,
Miami
Made in the USA
During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Sen. JD Vance said, “We’re going to stamp more and more products with that beautiful label: Made in America.” That hit home.
While Vance was witnessing the impact of a struggling steel mill in his Ohio hometown, I was a quality manager in the middle of a factory closing in Iowa. Owned by a publicly traded corporation, our company’s CEO was focused solely on making his end-of-the-month numbers look good.
We were handed a directive in which 30% of our purchased parts had to come from countries like China and India. After accomplishing his objective, the CEO still closed our doors. To him, we were just hicks in a cornfield. Our jobs went to our sister company in Reynosa, Mexico where, adding insult to injury, we had to train our counterparts.
The catastrophic supply-chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic reminded all of us of the risks inherent with having our products manufactured overseas. If we care anything about our economic future, manufacturing must be brought back and ex-President Donald Trump is best equipped to make it happen.
Ben Furleigh,
Port Charlotte
Deeply ugly
Because October is “Disability Awareness Month” and also the month before the 2024 election, Herald readers should be cognizant of ex-President Donald Trump’s sordid history toward the disabled.
In recent days, he said that Vice President Kamala Harris is “mentally disabled…born that way.” In 2016, he mocked and mimicked a New York Times reporter who has a congenital joint condition.
Earlier this year, Trump’s nephew, Fred C. Trump III, who has a severely disabled son, wrote a book describing an incident in which Trump told him that people who have such disabilities “should just die.”
The depths of Trump’s awfulness has no bottom.
John Ise,
Miami Shores
A vote, a voice
Few countries in the world can actually choose their leaders. We have that opportunity. It is a special day when we can put aside all the conflicts, the differences, the divisions and just express what we think and how we believe our nation should act.
We sometimes expect our system to be perfect and because it is a human creation and therefore imperfect, we lose heart. We say, I am not going to vote, or I won’t participate, or it doesn’t matter. Yes, it matters!
My two brothers, one 18 and the other 20 years old, must have lost heart and wondered what they were doing fighting in the horrors of World War II. However, they put their lives aside and fought for their democracy and for mine. I have to keep faith with them. Now is our time. Vote!
Maureen Dinnen,
Fort Lauderdale