Dear Editor:
I call upon Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer and Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill to preserve the features of the Affordable Care Act that have proven life-saving and life-sustaining for the American people, namely the ban against discrimination for pre-existing conditions, gender parity in pricing, provision of birth control, maternity care, and counseling for intimate partner violence.
I find it confounding that Congress has wasted time voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act upwards of 50 times, but has not made a replacement ready for the day they might actually succeed.
Planned Parenthood's full funding, too, must be preserved. Millions of people, most of whom are of low income and/or living in medically underserved areas, depend on Planned Parenthood for well woman exams, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and more. Congress would do well to address these needs before thinking about destroying access; it is, after all, their job to represent the people.
A career in health care taught me that no one should be made to suffer needlessly and human rights should not be determined by the size of one's bank account.
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