Texas men deserve a stake in the abortion rights debate, too | Opinion
Wider base
Activists could improve their chances of restoring abortion rights by appealing to both men and women. (June 26, 4A, “Texas activists gather in Washington to protest overturning of Roe v. Wade”)
Activists typically frame their arguments around women’s autonomy. Slogans such as “Her body, her choice” and “A woman’s right to choose” are common. Slogans about giving men choices are not.
They should advocate reproductive rights for both genders, including expanded contraceptive options for men (such as more research into male birth-control pills) and time-limited opportunities for men to decline future legal and parental financial obligations for a child before birth.
A movement that promotes reproductive freedom for both women and men would build a broader coalition and improve its prospects for success.
- Steven Prohaska, Richmond
Get informed
We just commemorated America’s independence, the concept that we the people have the right to have a representative government rather than be ruled by a king.
The true promise of democracy was made possible only in 1965, when the Voting Rights Act implemented measures to ensure all people, regardless of skin color, have the right to vote. The Supreme Court recently gutted this relatively young concept of having a democracy for all.
Many of our hard-won rights are being undermined.
Use your superpower and vote to keep our democracy. Stand up for the truth. Check sources of the information you receive and don’t spread unsubstantiated remarks. Check credible nonpartisan sources such as the League of Women Voters to research candidates. Be an educated voter and vote for the candidates who best reflect your values.
- Janet Mattern, President, League of Women Voters of Tarrant County
Real costs
U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman seems to think Texans who are hurting financially have no memories. In the latest email update from his office, he wrote: “I know how many families are struggling, which is why I’m working to lower the cost of healthcare and cut taxes.”
What a joke. Goldman’s constant support of the Trump administration’s budgets and tax bills does just the opposite. Texans lost health coverage under the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill, which slashed Medicaid funding and allowed enhanced Affordable Care Act tax subsidies to expire.
- Preston Matthiesen, Fort Worth
I’m prepared
On the rise of socialism and perhaps communism in the U.S., consider that we are unlike all places where the populations are kept under state control. In other takeovers, no one had weapons to fight back. In the U.S., everyone is armed, and it would not take much to launch the opposition.
I am 85 years old, and I own four weapons. There are hundreds of millions of privately owned guns. So I say: Bring it on.
- John Cochran, Denton