TNT letters to the editor: Vaccine exemptions, mask mandates and Texas abortion law
Abortion law
Re: “Texas abortion law is saving lives, but there’s still more to do,” (TNT, 9/12).
The last paragraph in Cynthia Allen’s recent column stated that “today” Texas’ new abortion law will “will save the lives of an estimated 150 children.” No it won’t.
What will happen is an estimated 150 women will now have to find another way to take care of a medical issue. Instead of a safe place and experienced medical staff they will now be forced to go either out of state or to a backstreet abortionist.
How arrogant of Allen to believe she knows better than these women do about a medical procedure that is none of her business. The law will not save 150 lives. It has pushed 150 women back into the 1950s.
I remember when there were no options and women died. Do you?
Joan Haugsness, Puyallup
Religious exemptions
Re: “Ploy or legitimate tactic? Group promotes religious exemption to WA COVID vaccine mandates,” (TNT, 9/8).
As a global pandemic tests the very fabric of our community and our country, Mr. Young has chosen to spend his efforts to assist constituents in the construct of pretend religious exemptions to vaccination. These efforts are in direct conflict with the oath he took to uphold the laws of this state.
As both a woman of faith and a registered nurse for 27 years, I am appalled by his actions. With his continued politicization of the COVID-19 vaccine, Young thwarts efforts to return our community to a pre-COVID normal. From education to the economy, from the arts to the care of children, Young is attempting to circumvent the very actions that can lead us out of this prolonged crisis.
Indeed, there are individuals who have strong religious objections to accessing medical interventions. The theology held by these individuals is not selective to vaccines, but rather to the notion that medical science does not serve God’s will. Although Young and his troop of seminar leaders are helping people to craft exemptions by utilizing the right language, these “workarounds” are an affront to the Christian faith, and certainly to those who work on the front lines of this pandemic.
Eve M Yabroff, Gig Harbor
Vaccine confidence
Re: “New statewide outdoor mask requirement for large crowds starts Monday amid Delta surge” (TNT, 9/12).
The News Tribune’s Debbie Cockrell reported that Governor Inslee provided some reasoning for his recent outdoor mask mandate. Inslee stated: “We need more people to think a little less about ‘me,’ and start thinking a little more about ‘we.’” He also stated: “It is time for people to stop listening to conspiracy theories…” He concluded his pontification with: “This vaccine is a miracle.”
This is the governor who back in October 2020 said the Trump administration had eroded trust in the Food and Drug Administration and any FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine must meet a second Washington State approval before being used. He also stated last year: “It doesn’t do a lot of good to have a vaccine approved by the FDA that never achieves immunity.”
Perhaps our governor is part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
Doug Forsythe, Gig Harbor