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Jan Varnum of Bar Harbor is a retired elementary school teacher.
OK ladies, it’s time to stand up and speak up for yourself and other women. Your future depends on it!
I’m pretty old, but I still remember when as a child my mother was really angered when a competent first grade teacher was forced to resign her job when she got pregnant. The complaint was that it “wouldn’t look right to the children.”
Young people hardly ever lived together due to fear of pregnancy. If one did become pregnant, marriage was essential — resulting in a “shotgun wedding.” If a high school girl became pregnant, she had to drop out, thus ending her education.
My own sister suffered greatly when her baby was dying inside her, yet abortion was against the law. She had to deal with the pain until the doctors were sure the baby was dead. (How is this “Do no harm”?)
Although not 100 percent certain, the discovery of the birth control pill in the early ‘60s changed everything, including that women could enjoy sex along with men. It allowed couples to more often plan pregnancies. Abortion prevented unwanted pregnancies, as well as saving lives when a woman’s life was threatened.
This question also relates to our economic lives. When I started college in 1958, I could not borrow money independently as a woman. A man had to assume responsibility for the loan. My father did, and no one was prouder when I repaid my loan!
Fortunately, my husband supported my economic independence. In 1974, when women were allowed to have a credit card, he encouraged me to do so. He also urged me to buy our second car when we could manage it financially.
These are all things that we take for granted today! A woman can choose from many more vocations than ever before and can be independent beings with equal rights.
Don’t let these opportunities and rights be taken away. The decision to revoke Roe v. Wade should wake us all up and make us take action.
Please vote! Women have had this privilege since 1920. It is a right and a responsibility for all Americans! Let’s not give it up.