Letter: Abortion Is Health Care

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To the Editor:

Seventy percent of Americans support safe and legal abortions. Abortion is health care, and is a basic human right that has been protected by Roe for the past 50 years. Yet this right has been rescinded by six radical, ultraconservative Supreme Court judges, three of whom were appointed by a president who failed to win the popular vote.

Maybe that 70 percent got too complacent and took this right for granted. But the lesson is learned: No constitutional right is safe any longer. Many of us are outraged by the court's decision that does not even allow for abortion in cases of rape or incest.

But if we want our rights restored, outrage alone is not enough. We must do all we can to mobilize the vote for pro-choice Democratic candidates this November and in November of 2024 to keep Democrats in control of Congress and ensure that abortion rights are protected. If Republicans take back Congress in November, we face the dire prospect that they will enact a federal ban on abortion, criminalizing the procedure nationwide, and that other reproductive rights, such as access to contraception and the right to marry whom we choose, will be under attack.

In the meantime, if you want to join the fight, visit the Berkshire Brigades Facebook page.

Louise Farkas
Pittsfield, Mass.

Farkas is a member of the Berkshire Brigades steering committee. 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Wahconah Students Join Statewide 'SOS' Call for Rural School Funding

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

DALTON, Mass. — Students at Wahconah Regional High School are urging the state to fully fund Rural School Aid that supports essential services that shape their future.
 
Rural districts across the state participated in Rural and Declining Enrollment Schools Week of Action to insist Beacon Hill fully fund rural aid at $60 million. 
 
Schools across Massachusetts sent their pleas for aid to lawmakers through letter-writing campaigns, sign-making, and coordinated gatherings where students and educators formed the letters "SOS."

Wahconah students did something different — they created an educational video detailing the need for increased funding for rural schools with the school's music teacher Brian Rabuse, who edited the video, Assistant Superintendent Aaron Robb said. 

The advocacy efforts move the issue from spreadsheets to show the human cost of a funding formula previously described as "remarkably wrong." 
 
During an interview with iBerkshires, students expressed how districts without rural aid would have to make reductions in world language programing, mental health support, extracurricular opportunities, and other areas they find essential. 
 
"Our students deserve the same quality of education as any child in Massachusetts, regardless of their ZIP code," Superintendent Mike Henault said in a press release.
 
"The week of action is an opportunity for our communities to come together and make it clear to Beacon Hill that the status quo is no longer acceptable." 
 
Rural schools attempt to create the same quality education as urban and suburban areas while balancing high fixed costs of transportation and operations of geographically large, low-population districts.
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