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John, As a physician of more than two decades, an advocate for the Affordable Care Act, and the chair of the board of commissioners for Pennsylvania's third-largest county, I know firsthand how important it is to use data and facts to make decisions. And we’re in the middle of an all-out assault on science and facts that's only grown worse in recent years. We face an uphill battle in fighting climate change due to these attacks. We are losing Americans to extreme temperatures. Parents have to worry about the air their kids breathe and the water they drink. And yet every day, people in positions of power continue to undermine our efforts to address this, openly questioning science. They deny that vaccines work against COVID-19. They deny that the disease is even real and in doing so make it harder for us to protect the lives and health of our friends and neighbors. And some of the worst offenders are right here in Pennsylvania, where Republican politicians also refuse to accept the fact that Joe Biden won the presidential election. Anti-abortion politicians are some of the clearest deniers of science and facts. They misrepresent medical facts, or ignore them altogether, to push an anti-abortion agenda that is punishing pregnant people and the physicians and medical personnel who help them by making it harder and in some cases nearly impossible to access abortion services. As someone who spent countless hours on the labor and delivery floor, I have seen firsthand the challenges and stigma Pennsylvanians and Americans face in accessing abortion and reproductive health care. I also understand the consequences of taking away abortion access and the ability of pregnant people to make these decisions with their doctors. It's just wrong. It's more urgent than ever that we not only codify Roe v. Wade but also expand abortion access by making it available at no cost to anyone who needs or wants it. We must also expand access to the full range of reproductive health care, including making contraception available over the counter at no cost. Defending abortion care and reproductive freedom is central to the fight to defend science and truth. We must stand together for abortion care and demand action to protect it. And we must elect more people to office, especially women, who will make this a priority. I'm committed to that work, and I won't back down from that fight until anyone who needs or wants an abortion can access it free from barriers and stigma. With determination, Val |
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