At the same time as Alabama’s draconian anti-abortion bill sits on the desk of Governor Kay Ivey, Vermont legislators have sent their own bill, in support of a woman’s right to choose, to Governor Phil Scott, for his signature. 

Signing H.57 will speak volumes on the respect Governor Scott has for women and send a clear message of independence to the GOP.  Passed overwhelmingly by the legislature, H.57 reflects the majority view in Vermont, that decisions regarding a woman’s body belong in the realm of private conscience, not to the state.

That is not to say that all Vermonters agree that abortion isn’t wrong.  That is where individual conscience and choice come to bear.

You don’t have to agree with abortion to support a woman’s right to choose.

Women’s bodies are their own.  To take any other position is simply un-American.

Women have the inherent responsibility to make decisions about their bodies in accordance with their ethical beliefs, their family relationships, and whatever health considerations may be involved.  That is a responsibility with which no political or legal authority has a right to interfere.  For help in making such a difficult decision, a woman may consult clergy, her doctor, or both.

Allowing the state a say in such a private matter opens the door to other invasions by the state. 

We have a declining birthrate.  Emboldened by legislation like Alabama’s anti-abortion law, might the state one day decide, in the national interest, to mandate that every married woman bear at least one child?

And what becomes of unwanted and/or critically disabled children that the mother is unable to care for properly?  Will the state accept full responsibility for a lifetime of care, with all that that might entail, for every child who is forced into an inhospitable world because abortion was not available to the mother?

I rather doubt that the GOP could be depended upon to show such sympathy and generosity to unwanted children once they emerge from the womb.

Governor Scott: please don’t yield to the callous disregard for women’s rights that has come to distinguish your male-dominated party.  

As a Vermonter first, you are better than that.