Everybody is always asking what we can do to "fight evil" in our own towns/counties/states. Here's a suggestion for a place to start: sign up to receive email newsletters from your democratic representatives and congressmen, and then send appropriate responses back to them! It might be a drop in a very large bucket, but I say let's drip, drip, drip away.
I live in Washington state, unfortunately, although I refuse to leave because this is where my ancestors were pioneers, my family is still here, and I consider it one of the most beautiful places in the entire US. Anyways, I subscribe to National Write Your Congressmen, so I ended up getting subscribed to receive newsletters from Patty Murray, who is abhorrent. All of her newsletters are tell of all her "many accomplishments" in vague terms and whining about the fall of Roe. I'll put the original email in a separate comment for anyone interested in reading it. I got so sick of them I finally sat down to write a little note back to her. I thought you all might enjoy it 😉
First of all, if the nation is experiencing a "full-blown health crisis", it is because of the politicians who have been in TOO LONG whose policies DON'T WORK. Second, abortion is when a baby gets the death penalty for someone else's actions. You are delusional when you say that the people of Washington support abortion. You are completely disconnected. Most of us are very sick of not being listened to, while every time we turn around a new tax is being imposed on us. I am very curious, WHY are you so fixated on abortion anyway??? Every single email I get from you is complaining about Roe. I am completely ashamed of the politicians in this state who prioritize murder/sacrifice over family under the guise of "Women's Rights." Does the baby not have rights???? You mention your daughters and granddaughters in your email, it's nice that you allowed them to live. I haven't heard one word about child/human trafficking in any of your emails. What are you doing to combat that? What about their rights? Forcing taxpayers to pay for irresponsible people's healthcare is extortion. The fact that you proudly say PREPARED, PUBLISHED, AND MAILED AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE on every one of your email newsletters makes me sick too. I look forward to a response from you. But I'll probably see you and all your friends charged with treason and given your due penalty before that happens.
Original email from Patty Murray:
Dear friend,
It’s been almost one year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ripped away a woman’s fundamental right to make her own health care decisions—a direct result of a decades-long attack by Republicans to drag women’s rights back by nearly half a century.
Since then, the consequences of this ruling have been swift and cruel. Our nation is experiencing a full-blown health care crisis. Women across the country have been denied the health care they need—often putting their lives at risk. In just one year, Republican politicians have stripped 22 million women and counting of their ability to get an abortion in their home state. 14 states have implemented complete bans and another 6 now impose other limits on access to abortion. Another 9 states have tried to ban abortion, with those bans being temporarily blocked in court.
These radical policies aren’t only forcing women to stay pregnant—jeopardizing their health, and in many cases, their lives—they are also limiting people’s access to birth control and miscarriage care, jeopardizing Americans’ ability to access IVF services to start a family, and keeping patients from accessing other routine treatment and medications they rely on.
And they aren’t stopping there—Republicans in Congress even introduced a national abortion ban last year that would rip away the right to abortion for women in all 50 states, including Washington state. That same bill also threatened doctors with up to five years in prison for providing abortion care. That’s just cruel.
Since even before Roe was overturned, I have worked nonstop to block Republicans in Congress from advancing their extreme agenda. In this Congress, I’ve introduced or am helping lead legislation to:
Restore Roe and the right to abortion in all 50 states. Protect the right to birth control. Make sure women have the right to travel across state lines to receive abortion care. Expand access to family planning services. Protect our servicemembers and veterans’ access to reproductive health care. Ensure people’s online health and location data is protected and cannot be used against them. Expand access to abortion coverage for people on government-sponsored health care plans. Help medical students receive critical training in abortion care—even if they have to travel from out of state to get it. And I’ve stood up on the Senate floor a countless number of times to block efforts from Republicans to restrict reproductive health care.
While this has been an incredibly difficult year, we cannot let our guard down. Republicans are not slowing down—they are hell-bent on ripping away women’s rights in every state and every community. So, we can’t slow down either.
I refuse to accept a world where my daughters and granddaughters have fewer rights than I did. I refuse to accept a world where women’s lives are being put at risk because some politician thinks they know better than her about what’s best for her body. And I refuse to let national Republicans disregard the rights of people in Washington state who have made clear they support the right to abortion.
I am in this for the long haul, and I hope you’ll join me in the fight to restore Roe and our reproductive rights.
In service,
Patty Murray United States Senator for Washington state