To the editor,

No matter our place, faith or race, most of us want reproductive healthcare for ourselves, our sisters, girlfriends, wives, and daughters. We want access to the resources that are necessary for our optimal health. But MAGA Republicans are turning us against each other while they take away the healthcare that our families need.

They’re trying to scare us by attacking doctors' best practices. They’re distracting us by talking about states’ rights while they control us and decide our futures for us.

We know that the majority of us want the same thing. We know that women’s health and well-being are central and integrally connected to a better future for all of our families and communities. We know that a reproductive healthcare model needs to be built on care and compassion to bring forward the best outcome for women, babies and families. I can understand opposing abortion, but we can all recognize that women need care and compassion as they make difficult real-life decisions about their bodies. Every woman knows, many of them to their own sorrow, that not every pregnancy ends with a healthy baby. In my own family, six of us had 21 pregnancies and five ended in miscarriage. The grief and dashed hopes were bad enough. I am so grateful that my family members got the care they needed and were able to grieve their losses without the trauma of being turned away, or accused, in their time of need.

Think about a woman you love as she makes a difficult decision about her body and her life. I hope you will be there for her with care and compassion.

Linda Vivoda-Sadée

River Falls