This commentary is by Dottye Ricks of Barre Town, a Reproductive Liberty Amendment liaison for the League of Women Voters, of which she’s been a member for more than 30 years. She is a retired public school and university teacher, an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Barre and a longtime member of the gleaning service group Community Harvest of Central Vermont.
In this Age of Fake News and Alternative Truths, a barrage of misleading propaganda has appeared in flyers, mailers and papers concerning Prop 5/Article 22. These are attempts to sway voters against this vitally important measure. We must recognize and reject these false claims, understand how we are being played, and identify what Prop 5 really achieves.
1. Misinformation. The false rhetoric is led by the phrase ‘late-term abortions.” This phrase is used to scare people and discredit Prop 5.
Yet rarely are late-term abortions performed in Vermont and only under limited circumstances deemed medically necessary. The vast majority of abortions are done in the first trimester, not in late-term months. Late-term procedures that do occur are governed by AMA standards and, more importantly, by ethical criteria, and are primarily performed only in emergency situations. Nothing in Prop 5 will change these sane and thoughtful parameters or increase access to late-term abortions.
This claim is designed to scare voters about what Prop 5 really achieves — reproductive autonomy. Reject these tactics and endorse Prop 5...
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