Every state has a choice on abortion
Women’s control over their own bodies is at risk. For the first time, the Supreme Court has narrowed the rights available to citizens.
The right to access to abortion has been settled precedent for 49 years in the United States. No more.
Now, every single lawmaker has a choice. Every state has a choice.
Today, you can deny me the right to end an unwanted pregnancy, even in cases of rape, incest and my health, but I can’t regulate your right to carry a gun openly in the streets and stores. of my town.
Today, half of all abortions are medical (by pill) and over 90% are in the first trimester.
Today, medical insurance programs and businesses can choose not to cover birth control, and it is difficult for teenagers to access birth control and condoms.
Today, our foster care system is completely overwhelmed with unwanted, uncared for children.
States: Vote to keep abortion rights accessible and not criminalized; be sure those in need can travel without penalty and get access to medication abortions in other states.
Anti-abortion activists: Is it really about the babies? Mississippi, central in this case, ranks near the bottom of 50 states in infant mortality and access to high-quality prenatal care for all.
If this is really about the babies, then anti-abortion states will pour unprecedented funds into birth-control access and education, prenatal care and postnatal support, and destigmatizing adoption. They will strengthen mothers’ access to paternal identification, DNA testing, and garnished child support.
I’m not a Handmaid in a red cloak. Yet.
Sharon Carnahan Casselberry
Think of LGBTQ+ rights beyond Pride Month
There’s so much to love about Pride Month.
It’s a time to acknowledge that our differences as individuals make us stronger as a whole. It’s a time to celebrate love in whatever form it comes. And for me, it’s a time when I’m an especially proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
I love how virtual colors and symbols helped us show solidarity with all things Pride throughout the pandemic. Now, with COVID-19’s darkest days behind us, I ask you to think about how we can foster even more inclusion in person outside the month of June each year.
The numbers are staggering: 46 percent of LGBTQ+ workers have experienced unfair treatment at work, and 34 percent have left a job due to treatment by an employer. This isn’t OK. We all deserve to have a career that we love. Inclusion is a real commitment, and it’s something I work on every day.
This Pride Month, join me in thinking beyond the month of June. Think big by supporting LGBTQ+ businesses, advocacy groups, and employees. And don’t forget — rainbows look good year-round.
Phil Pallen Orlando
Red Lobster exec: Expand U.S. seafood production
Summer is a great reminder that America has an opportunity to harness the vast resources of our oceans to feed our communities fresh, local seafood. Farming, or the raising and rearing of fish and other plant life in the ocean, has been a tested means to yield crops of sustainable protein for decades. Today’s modern aquaculture is clean, regenerative and efficiently managed. The siting of the farms is carefully considered. Water pumps, artificial intelligence and machine learning allow for monitoring and measurement of the livestock’s health.
Farmed fish already feeds the world, including Americans, and more than half of the seafood we eat comes from farms. Yet the U.S. imports up to 85% of the seafood we consume. U.S. food producers are not able to raise fish in federal waters because of complex, confusing regulations that hinder new permits. We are missing significant opportunities by outsourcing food production, including local jobs and local food.
A new poll found that 87% of voters stated it’s important to expand American seafood production when learning that doubling U.S. aquaculture production could create 50,000 jobs. The Echelon Insights poll of 1,020 voters also found that 85% support American aquaculture when they learned it’s a sustainable industry.
Climate change, supply-chain challenges, and global fuel shortages are creating real strains for our stores and restaurants, and families are struggling with food prices. Farming in U.S. waters offers a solution. Our federal lawmakers should act to make it happen.
Horace G. Dawson III Orlando
Horace G. Dawson III is the executive vice president and general counsel of Red Lobster Seafood.
![Every year, the Orlando Sentinel honors a group of heroes who make big differences in local lives: Those whose inspiration and hard work support our community at the time w hen their efforts are most needed. Over the past weeks we’ve profiled the finalists for this year’s honors, and today we name Eric Gray of the Christian Service Center as Central Floridian of the Year. Many nonprofit leaders firmly believe that controversy is the enemy when you’re trying to promote a cause. But there are times when staying silent just doesn’t seem like an option — when the microphone is […]](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TOS-L-CFOTY-ERIC-GRAY-0421-2.jpg?w=525 "Every year, the Orlando Sentinel honors a group of heroes who make big differences in local lives: Those whose inspiration and hard work support our community at the time w hen their efforts are most needed. Over the past weeks we’ve profiled the finalists for this year’s honors, and today we name Eric Gray of the Christian Service Center as Central Floridian of the Year. Many nonprofit leaders firmly believe that controversy is the enemy when you’re trying to promote a cause. But there are times when staying silent just doesn’t seem like an option — when the microphone is […]")
