Health care Importance

I was deeply disturbed to hear the recent story of a young woman being turned away from an emergency room while suffering from an ectopic pregnancy. The doctors, afraid of running afoul of strict anti-abortion laws, hesitated to provide necessary care. This is a dangerous and heartbreaking reality no one should face.

As someone who has personally experienced an ectopic pregnancy prior to these restrictive laws, I am profoundly grateful for the medical care I received. The pain was unbearable. For those unfamiliar, it’s like a kidney stone that doesn’t pass, but just keeps getting bigger. Ectopic pregnancies are not viable and can lead to a ruptured fallopian tube, severe internal bleeding or worse — death. Denying timely treatment out of fear of legal repercussions should never be an option.

As we approach election season, it’s crucial to recognize that the stakes couldn’t be higher. Leaders like Kamala Harris have been clear in their support for reproductive rights and their commitment to protecting the health and safety of women. By voting for Kamala Harris and others who advocate for a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, we can work toward restoring commonsense protections and ensure that no one is denied lifesaving care out of fear of legal action.

This is not just about politics; it’s about preserving the dignity and well-being of all people. Let’s vote for leaders who understand this fundamental truth.

Carrie Kenyon

Clarkston

Class president vote?

The Sept. 19 letter from Gary Willson had me wondering if he was voting illegally.

He said he had been voting since he was 18, but up until 1971, the age for legal voting was still 21. Maybe he was voting for a class president in high school or college.

R.G. Nourse

Clarkston

Vote no on Prop 1

Please vote no on Proposition 1.

We Idaho Republicans don’t need help selecting our candidates. Should your favorite football team let the opposing team choose your quarterback? No Republican should support this left-wing proposition. Thanks.

Lucky Brandt

Kooskia

Prop 1 will destroy Idaho

Proposition 1 is a double-edged sword to destroy Idaho.

First there’s the open primaries edge. It allows any person to run in a “jungle primary” with no restrictions or adherence to a party platform, party rules or party bylaws, etc. These are all used by the grassroots members of a party to hold their legislators accountable.

Second, there’s the ranked choice voting edge. This requires that you vote for all four candidates in a ranking system. It’s not one person, one vote anymore. It requires costly computer systems to tabulate three rounds of voting if one candidate doesn’t receive more than 50%. Does it make any sense to turn over our voting system to companies that aren’t accountable to the voter and let them determine the winner using logarithms?

This effort stinks from the influence of big money donors from outside of Idaho. As a Republican precinct committeeperson in Nez Perce County, I know what is happening here.

They have open borders. They want open bathrooms. They need open primaries.

Go to secureidahoelections.org for more information.

Join me and vote no on Proposition 1 to keep elections as they are now. Vote yes on House Joint Resolution 5 to allow only U.S. citizens the right to vote in Idaho. Vote Republican to save our state.

Daniel Crawford

Lewiston

News loves chaos

A common misconception that has permeated American thought ever since Donald Trump descended the golden escalator and entered politics is that most media outlets are against him.

This carefully manicured underdog image ignores one of the most basic journalistic truths: The news loves chaos. Chaos brings public attention and that sells advertisements, which are the major sources of income for all forms of media.

Whenever Trump whines about “fake news” picking on him, he is nurturing a fallacy that has so far brought him great success. But insiders in the business of news know that he has been better for their industry than any event in the past decade; they love him, no matter how it appears.

My first degree was in journalism, and my first job out of college was working for a small-town newspaper where I saw firsthand how controversy sells papers. There is only so much that can be reported about a placid week or politics as usual. Only so many stories about puppies and peace can be published before public boredom sends audiences elsewhere. People flock to the news to learn about hurricanes, but kindly volunteers working at food banks bring only casual notice, becoming “filler” for news outlets.

Trump is a hurricane that doesn’t relent, and he attracts public attention with each outrageous statement even as commentators condemn him and reporters hold their noses. So, don’t believe the myth. For the news business, Trump’s the goose who keeps on laying golden eggs.

Mike Ruskovich

Grangeville