Support women, girls
How do you stop the Arkansas Legislature's anti-abortion crusade? No amount of potential harm to children or women stirs feelings of humanity or responsibility in the crusaders.
Real life for one Arkansas woman: A 19-year-old's parents emotionally abuse her when they discover she is sexually active with Boyfriend. Dad calls her a "whore" and a "slut." They find her birth control pills and slap her around before taking them away. Before getting new pills, she becomes pregnant.
Boyfriend's behavior now changes. Gentle and caring before, he becomes emotionally abusive, "teasing" her about her "knobby knees." He squeezes her knees hard. She asks him to stop. He laughs and exerts more pressure.
He grabs and pinches her breasts. She asks him to stop, telling him this hurts. She doesn't say how mortified and shameful she feels. Laughing, he says he is "playing."
She and Boyfriend agree to an abortion. The abuse does not stop. Boyfriend tries to strangle her twice; once she thinks, "I am going to die." Another time, he grabs the arms of the metal chair she is sitting in, bending its arms. He then throws her on the bed and tries to strangle her. Yet another time, he grabs her by the collar of her T-shirt and throws her to the ground.
Pregnancy triggers Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or domestic abuse for some women and children. This dynamic is reported in medical journals. Without the law allowing abortion, my life would have been continued physical and emotional abuse.
I call upon humane Arkansans to stop the crusade. Contact your legislators and the governor to vote against, or veto, these bills. Arkansas men should act to support the girls and women they love to have available all medical treatments suitable to their individual health needs, including abortion.
MARCIA BARNES
North Little Rock
It's not your decision
I am writing to state my wholehearted agreement with Suzanne Wilmoth of Rogers. When will people quit making decisions for my body? If you think that women go for an abortion just for giggles, then you are crazier than I thought.
Try teaching all men, young and old, that it is their responsibility to make certain this this does not become a decision a woman should have to make. Ladies, there are too many clinics where you can obtain birth control for free or at little cost; try using them.
Don't send us back to the dark ages of back-alley butchers and women dying from these procedures. Please stop this from passing. Women are not possessions for someone else to make their decisions. That is their choice and they will have to live with it no matter the decision they make.
JACKI STAFFORD
Conway
Taking responsibility
Star Parker's op-ed in last Thursday's paper was by far the best explanation of personal responsibility that I have ever read. She nailed it when she said that reparations change nothing except that the "disenfranchised" get free money, which will not change their circumstances. This will not change their perception of past wrongs that we had absolutely nothing to do with. The past has nothing at all to do with their present problems or situations and to blame us is absurd. Like she emphasized, they are responsible for fixing themselves, as she herself did. Our government is not in charge of our lives.
JOCEIL WOODS
Searcy
Will keep wearing it
While serving with the U.S. Army in Germany as a flight surgeon, I wore a Nomex flight suit whenever involved in air operations. Nomex, a "flame-resistant" cloth, has saved many lives and minimized burn injuries in "post-crash" fires involving aircraft since the Vietnam War.
During the period of my active duty, a surprising and alarming suggestion was made: The use of Nomex flight suits should be discontinued. The suggestion was made for two reasons: (1) Nomex was more expensive than cotton and (2) there had not been many post-crash burn injuries and deaths for several years.
Very recently, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that, at the end of this month, the use of masks would no longer be mandated. The reason: The number of covid infections in our state has gone down. This makes about as much sense as discontinuing flame-resistant flight suits because the number of burn injuries was lower among people wearing flame-resistant flight suits.
I, like many people, am tired of wearing a mask. However, I will continue to wear a mask until this pandemic is truly under control. I hope all Arkansans will continue to wear masks (whether mandated or not) until we get this under control.
CARL HOFFMAN
Rogers
One more epidemic
I have noticed for some time a speech difficulty our younger folks seem to possess. They seem to have lost the ability to pronounce phonetically the sounds for letters "t" and "d." These letter pronunciations have been replaced with more of a grunt.
I'm concerned for these young people. I have not a clue why this has occurred, but it was prior to the covid vaccine, so, thankfully, no blame there. Examples of this disability are as follows: The word "important" becomes "impor-unt." And President Joe Biden will become "President Joe Bi-en."
Thankfully, this problem hasn't seemed to affect their self-esteem. I've heard this mispronunciation come from people being interviewed on NPR. They are CEOs and directors of large nonprofits. And just the other morning, I witnessed it from a reporter on "GMA." So bravo to these courageous young people! I just hope scientists can find an answer--once they've been allowed a rest after the covid nightmare.
AMY BERG
Stuttgart