There’ll be a cost for
an abortion ban without exceptions for rape, incest
That the United States Supreme Court will overrule Roe v. Wade appears imminent. Many states have enacted “trigger statutes,” which will ban abortions, absolutely, as soon as the High Court’s forthcoming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization becomes final – no exceptions for rape or incest.
According to the May 4 edition of The Atlantic magazine, “For decades, about 75 percent of Americans have consistently told pollsters that abortion should be legal in cases of rape and incest. But many of the measures now set to take effect do away with such exceptions.”
Former President Ronald Reagan detested abortion but endorsed exceptions for rape in the 1980s; George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump all also indicated their support for such exceptions. Even the National Right to Life Committee supported legislation in the 1990s that included exceptions. Indeed, the Hyde Amendment, the federal law that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions, has long contained these exceptions.
Can anyone seriously doubt that pregnancy and parenthood have substantial economic consequences. The cost of having a baby is relatively steep in the United States, with the average cost ranging from $10,808 to $30,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, interim 2020 figure. The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a report regarding the expenditures on children. After tracking the expenses over the years, their latest report calculates the cost of raising a single child through age 17 as $233,610, on average; approximately $1,150 month.
If states wish to ban abortions without exceptions for rape and incest then I suggest they pick up the tab. Of course, the state is us.
Edward H. Schulman
Kailua-Kona
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Don’t feed feral cats
Please do not feed the feral cats.
Cat feces contain parasites (Toxoplasma gondii), which cause “Toxoplasmosis” — a disease that can be fatal to native birds and marine mammals, including monk seals. There are only 1,400 monk seals (approximately) remaining in the Hawaiian Islands. Feral cats are an invasive species that must be eradicated to save the monk seals.
The Toxoplasma gondii parasites that are in dry cat feces, and can be inhaled by a person just walking in an area where cats have defecated. These parasites are harmful to humans, especially pregnant women and babies, with the potential to cause blindness, mental illness, and other maladies. Dogs that eat cat feces can also spread toxoplasmosis.
By feeding feral cats, you are also feeding mongoose, mice and rats. They spread another fatal disease to native birds and marine mammals called Murine typhus.
Henry Zend
Kailua-Kona
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