As part of my American civic duty, I believe in traveling to Olympia to speak on issues that matter to me. Even when speaking to legislators who don’t agree with me, I hope they will recognize that when we act together, there is nothing Washington can’t achieve. That is why I was incredibly shocked and appalled by Sen. Don Benton’s, R-Vancouver, behavior when I and six other volunteers for Planned Parenthood met with him on Feb. 18.
Not only did he make offensive remarks about “baby killers,” though 96 percent of what Planned Parenthood does in our state is preventive health care, he failed to even recognize us as his constituents if we didn’t vote for him. It doesn’t have to be this way. Diversity makes us strong in this country.
Benton needs to hear us out, so I will tell him here and now: I support the Reproductive Parity Act, and I believe family planning funding makes smart fiscal sense for the state (every $1 spent equals almost $5 in state savings). I hope Benton will consider these issues that matter to me. After all, I am his constituent, and he does represent me.
Terry Hashemi
Battle Ground
