Re: May 8 commentary, "Abbott says 'Texas is a pro-life state.' Where's the support for moms?"

This commentary should be required reading for anyone working to restrict access to abortion services in Texas. 

The lack of comprehensive policies to support mothers and fathers before, during and after a pregnancy is appalling. If everyone is striving to protect babies and the children they grow into, why are services so lacking? 

The amount of money and energy put into the abortion debate for the past 50 years could have been funneled into providing those services, including free contraceptive options and education about safe sex and abstinence. I’m confident someone has studied this and quantified how it would have reduced the need for abortions, and I feel it would be significant.

As a matter of public policy, if we care about kids, let’s demonstrate that by supporting and funding necessary public policies. Let’s start by electing leaders who support these policies in the upcoming November election.Gov. Abbott is not that leader.  

Well, there they go again. It seems Democrats lose control of Congress during the first terms of Democratic presidents lately. It happened during Clinton's first term and during Obama's first term and it looks like it is going to happen during Biden's first term as well.

The reason is simple: They don't give the majority of Americans what they want. 

Over 60% of Americans want stricter gun control laws. Over 60% of Americans want major oil companies to pay a windfall profits tax. Over 60% of Americans want only women and their physicians determining what women can with their bodies. 

The point is this. Democrats ought to do what Americans elected them to do. If not, well, when will they ever learn?

Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security plan calls for the installation of concertina wire along our Rio Grande . Concertina wire manufacturers state it "has sharp blades which can slice deep into your flesh and cause fatal injuries sometimes.”  

The governor’s plan is inhumane and should outrage all decent Texans. Sadly, some elected officials continue to normalize the sadistic treatment of our fellow man. Ensnarement of men, women and children in razor wire is yet a new low in an already cruel political reelection strategy.

Barbed wire has a tragic history when applied to fencing off those considered undesirable. Its use has never gone down in history as wise or just. As a lifelong Texan, I don’t want this to be part of our legacy. Using concertina razor wire is a seemingly simple solution to a complex problem, but it will have shameful consequences. I pray that we’re better humans than that, regardless of our political affiliations.