Hodgin letter: Sen. Dan Foreman
“Woman, where are your accusers?”
That question is posed by Jesus when he saves an adulterous woman from a public stoning under Mosaic Law. Her accusers leave, convicted by their own sins. Then, he tells her to go and sin no more, displaying love and mercy, not judgment, not condemnation.
Dan Foreman will never have an abortion.
The senator is proposing a bill that would make abortion “first-degree murder” in Idaho, charging the female and her physician who performs the operation — except in cases where the mother’s life is endangered.
As a paternalistic politician, Foreman pardons the male accomplice that impregnated the female.
As a novice lawmaker and zealot, Foreman forgot the federal law that protects all Americans and their confidentiality of treatment: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. This law is based on two premises: privacy and confidentiality, protecting sensitive patient records. This law roadblocks the senator’s pipe dreams — and his bill’s introduction would be a waste of valuable time.
Perhaps the senator should give generously to organizations like Planned Parenthood that provide contraceptive counseling and contraceptives under Title X, federal monies that cannot be used for abortions, preventing unintended pregnancies — and reducing abortions.
Susan Hodgin, Moscow
This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Hodgin letter: Sen. Dan Foreman."