Letter to the Editor: We need to pay close attention to the bills in our legislation

One of the most audacious and arrogant proposal that the WFC tried to pass legislature on this session. This proposal was as one Senator said too much power. The bill is SJ007 a constitutional amendment to our Wyoming constitution. This bill would have given the legislature the power to decide what their interpretation of healthcare was, not you. Now remember in 2012 we voted for the government to stay out of our business, but here is a bill that has us giving up our rights, not just ours but also parental rights. I mean if only the legislation could decide what qualifies as healthcare, heck it also means that your parental rights would be terminated as far as healthcare if only the legislation can decide what healthcare is. This was the Faustian deal they wanted to make with Wyoming citizens so they could have an all-out abortion ban. So, if your 10-year-old daughter was a victim of incest and pregnancy resulted well you would just be out of luck. I encourage everyone to look at this bill even though it did not pass on the massive overreach the freedom caucus wanted. Another bill is the “Human Heartbeat Act” HB126 which does not include exceptions for rape or incest, who would have thought that the WFC would have no pity for victims of a violent crime. The only exceptions are medical emergencies, irreversible physical impairment of a major body function. Reminds me of Idaho arguing about how many kidneys do you really need. Of course, these laws are written so vaguely that Doctors are afraid to do anything, and we get to climb into the ranks of rising maternal deaths. WE already have trouble retaining doctors, have maternal deserts, which Big Horn County is one. I read in the Casper paper that only 1 in 4 OB/Gyn live in Wyoming. Here’s another one Wyoming is the only state not to participate in the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, an initiative to support best practices that make birth safer and improve maternal health outcomes. You would think with only 1 in 4 Doctors living here and maternal deserts we would do something about it. We instead make it more difficult for women and of course this bill is on hold because abortion is healthcare for women. I agree with the governor put it to a vote and stop wasting taxpayers’ money and time. A straight up or down vote, no fancy language, should abortion be legal in Wyoming yes or no. 

On a personal note, I was dismayed to read that Lovell library is selling books to pay their electricity bill. Our little library could use some help, and it will only take a minute or two. The next time you go to Lynn’s save your receipt and drop it off at the Basin library, the local PEO is collecting receipts, for every $10,000 in receipts the Library gets a $100 dollars. 

Respectfully, Lynn Meier