Equality State wants to remove equality from our state

Dear Editor:

John Bear, a state representative, introduced and passed a bill to test our wastewater for mifepristone, based on an unpublished study and in collaboration with Students for Life, an anti-abortion group. Students petitioned the FDA on Nov. 15, 1922 using this same unpublished study. The FDA rejected it, stating that it was based on conjecture, not facts. They also wanted women to bag their medical waste. Now, this idea has surfaced in Wyoming.

Consider the women who find out their baby is not compatible with life; they must now run the gauntlet because the bag is the new scarlet letter. DEQ water quality administrator Jennifer Zygmunt was not aware of any approved methods for detecting chemical waste directly linked to abortion pills. Even she wants to see the unpublished study. She also mentioned it would be hard to test because it would be so diluted.

Suppose there is a magical way to test our wastewater. This drug is used for incomplete miscarriages, peptic ulcer disease, and many off-label treatments. How will they prove that an abortion took place or that it was used off-label? The legislature also rejected a modest increase in reimbursements for OB-GYNs. For the second year, they also rejected funding to feed children during the summer. They can spend money testing our wastewater, deny children summer food, and deny OB docs a modest increase to keep them here. Remember, 11 counties have no delivery services, including ours, but we can buy $10 million in gold and reject any plans for affordable housing.

Here’s a new word: coercion, as a new form of violence against women. Remember when they didn’t want to punish women? Well, six states have tried to pass homicide laws. Now, they seem to want to shame, arrest, and kill them. “Tyranny requires your fear, compliance, and silence. Democracy requires your courage,” said the governor of Illinois.

It’s ironic that the Equality State wants to remove equality from our state. Personally, I think diversity, equality, and inclusion are good things. They have made us strong as a nation and a state, but I guess now they aren’t acceptable anymore. We must have division, no equality, and no inclusion.

Respectfully,

Lynn Meier

Basin