Standing up for truth

[catsittingstill]

The text of my (paper) letter to my Representative about the planned House attempt to cut Family Planning funding (also funding for public radio and a bunch of other things, each an unmitigated public good.)

 

Dear Mr Fleischman,

I urge you in the strongest terms to reject the elimination of Title X, Family Planning funds. The program presently provides contraception, cancer screening, tests for HIV and high blood pressure screening to women who otherwise couldn't afford health care at all. There is no excuse for directly causing so much suffering by saddling women with unwanted babies that make it impossible for them to finish their educations or have jobs or careers. Reducing access to family planning services strikes at the heart of women's equality, and I hope you will reconsider and oppose this disaster. I assure you that I, and other women in my area, are watching to see what you will do.

I also strongly urge you to reject cutting the funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This vital source of neutral news, open to everyone, and already largely funded by donations from the public, does not deserve to be silenced in the interests of big money. I am a regular listener (and donate) to public radio and I urge you to remember that after 9/11 we all turned to public radio, who had actual foreign correspondents that commercial news corporations had largely abandoned, in place to acquaint us with the cultures and issues at the forefront in the Middle East and elsewhere.

I will be watching what you do on this too.

I understand your desire to cut the deficit but it is not acceptable to increase the suffering of women or reduce general access to a rare source of impartial information vital to an informed populace.


Your constituent,
It's easy.  Seriously.  You can do it too.  Feel free to lift my wording and swap things around a little to make it your own.  Find your Representative's address here at Vote Smart.  I think you still have time to send a paper letter, which gets the best results, but if in doubt you can find phone numbers here too.

Comments

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

I'm continually proud to be on the same side as you in the big picture.

I also have the luxury of rarely writing to the Congressional delegation from my area. Rep. DeFazio and Senators Wyden and Merkely would never vote to eliminate Title X, not in a million years. And they're that way about pretty much everything.

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

My congresspeople are all pretty solidly on the liberal side of almost everything too, so I rarely find myself in opposition to them, but I still call and write. They need to know they have support among their constituents or they won't always have the nerve to speak up loudly and strongly, sponsor bills, or otherwise take leadership action, even if they continue to place their vote the way I want it. It never hurts to call and say thank you for a particular piece of support, and let them know you're on their side.