Letter: Support for Prop 5 | Letters | reformer.com – Brattleboro Reformer

To the editor: I just want to say that as a Vermont man, I wholeheartedly support the constitutional amendment making its way through the legislature right now. I speak of Proposition 5, the “Reproductive Liberty” amendment, which was approved by the state Senate last week and will become law if approved by voters in 2022.

I’m proud to have lived here long enough to see Vermont take the lead in the U.S. in many important historical events and trends, like opposition to the Vietnam War, the back-to-the-land movement, the growth of organic farming, all of which I was a part. But more importantly, I’ve seen us lead by stellar example with voting: for the nuclear freeze, for civil unions, for gay marriage, for the rights of undocumented workers. Sometimes Vermont is called upon to lead even when it bucks a national political trend. We all know what Calvin Coolidge said about that.

We have a chance now to solidify Vermont’s support for family planning, for women’s reproductive health, and the right to decide their own course, while these rights are under attack in many parts of the country. I am very worried about the future of women’s rights in other states and in our conservative courts. As a man, I depend 100 percent on the security and independence of the women I know, and of all women. Indeed, of all people. So many rights, like contraception, like the right to make your own decisions about your own body and your own life, are never secure; they have to be fought for again and again. So it will be another major triumphant moment in our state’s history when this constitutional amendment is passed!

I urge all Vermonters to speak out in support, to contact their representatives in state government with a positive statement about Prop 5. This amendment is for everybody, for our liberty and dignity. It belongs in the Vermont constitution.

Sincerely,

Peter Gould

Brattleboro, April 6