Mary, Mary, Mary…
Contributed by Paul Johnson
I recently contacted Mary Peltola’s campaign office and posed this simple question: In a recent TV ad you stated that the Hobbs decision "Sent shockwaves through the State of Alaska", yet you failed to define your own position on abortion. Could you provide me with your clearly defined position so that I may make an informed decision in this election? I never felt the shockwaves and I did not receive a response.
A quick and simple Google search shows that abortion is protected in Alaska by the State Constitution. Guttermacher.org considers Alaska’s abortion law to be protective, along with 8 other States including; HI., WA., MT., CO., Il., MA., CT. & ME. (https://states.guttmacher.org/policies/minnesota/abortion-statistics) Alaska has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country. There is no gestation limitation, no waiting period, no parental consent and exceptions for rape, incest and the wellbeing of the Mother. Mary’s own site plainly states this but goes on to say that people in many other States don’t enjoy these same protections.
So, is Mary’s point to inform or to fear monger, and to what end? Mary’s site goes on to say that we, Alaska, need to do everything we can to help those less fortunate States to restore reproductive rights in their own States. (Note: The phrase Reproductive Rights is used in place of the word Abortion to avoid conjuring up the murderous imagery of a baby being sucked from the womb.)
The purpose of the Hobbs decision is to give each individual State the right to determine their abortion policies. Alaska had already ensconced our abortion laws into our constitution way back in 1997. In fact, a Federal Judge in Juneau recently decided that Physician’s Assistants can now perform abortions and there is no longer a requirement for the Physician to be a Board-Certified Physician. It is my opinion that Mary has chosen to fear monger in order to push an agenda rather than to inform and support an already strong and protected policy. Being a representative of the people of the State of Alaska is to be a representative of ALL the people of the State of Alaska. Not pushing Democrat agendas here and in other States.
As for the Willow Project, Don Young worked tirelessly on that project and was making good headway under the Trump administration. But when Biden took office and threw out the anchor on all energy projects, including ANWAR, that’s when the “Years of delays” started until Don’s untimely death in 2022. At that point, the Willow Project was literally dropped in Mary’s lap, like a blob of Salsa at Benny’s Food Wagon. And now that a Democrat holds the sole house seat for the State of Alaska, the Biden administration has decided to throw her a bone, just before election time. Even The New York Times was shocked at this unexplainable Biden policy reversal. Mary claims the Willow project will employ “thousands of Alaskans”. The fact of the matter is Conoco Philips states that 2,500 people will be required to complete the initial phase of the project but once completed, the project will only employ about 300 full-time employees. I suspect that neither the initial 2,500 nor the full time 300 will primarily be Alaskans. Hawk, Doyon & Conoco Philips are all currently advertising on the WWW for over 30 major positions on the Willow project alone.
Alaska and Alaskans deserve better. Send Mary and Lisa Packing in November and vote Trump - Vance 2024!