8/28/2022

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Just saw a clip of your visit with local leaders on Women’s Equality Day. What did you think of Durham Mayor, Elaine O’Neal’s, idea of changing the narrative to point out the reproductive responsibilities for males. You looked confused by her point, so I will spell it out for you. We need to start talking about policing the sex lives of men in the same way that women’s sex lives are being policed. If we do, men will start to see how ridiculous it is for the state to get involved. If we talk about forcing men with multiple sex partners to have vasectomies, then men might realize how ludicrous it is to force a woman to carry a fetus to term against her will.

            I appreciated Judge Lina Hidalgo’s concerns for the profound challenges presented by the no exceptions laws of TX & LA. The G had an article today about Nancy Davis, who had to travel 900 miles to have a procedure to extract a fetus with acrania. Nancy is saying, “I have to carry my baby to bury my baby,” because without a skull the baby will perish as soon as it is born. Her local doctors are afraid of breaking the law so they refuse to terminate the pregnancy. She has to either go to North Carolina so she can begin the grieving process associated with her loss, or stay in LA to endure the discomfort of pregnancy & delivery being tortured the whole time with the knowledge that her baby will die. My niece had an unviable fetus & was able to terminate that pregnancy a couple of years ago. That was quite traumatic. Let’s do what we can to ensure that women get to decide how to handle such devastating circumstances as they see fit.

            Thanks for drawing attention to this matter!

            Please also draw attention to the plight of the people in Burma. The situation continues to be untenable.

            BYBS,