Message from Mazie

Message from Mazie
October 10, 2006
Choice

Aloha,

Hawaii's women have been fortunate in matters of choice and reproductive rights. In 1970, our state was the first in the nation to make safe, medical abortions legal. That brave action by the Hawaii legislature came three years before the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe V. Wade made the same rights available to women across the country.

Today, every woman's power to choose is in danger. While Republicans and Far-Right pressure groups have not yet been able to overturn Roe v. Wade, they continue to chip away at this fundamental right by calling for limits on our reproductive freedom.

We need to remain vigilant, to continue to see through the slogans and political spin that anti-choice activists employ to cloud the issue. We must ensure that the public recognizes that phrases like "partial birth abortion" and "parental notification" are rhetoric aimed at turning choice into a wedge issue.

The opponents of our right to choose will try to soothe us with smiles and reassuring words, but by staying focused on the real question before us, we will recognize their position for what it is: an attempt to impose their narrow views on our basic right to control our own bodies.

I have been a champion of choice my entire political and professional career, and I will continue to fight for our rights in Congress. The women of our state and our nation deserve no less.

http://mazieforcongress.com/index.cfm/pageid/102