Our duty to vote. We have not heard that phrase applied to voting in elections in a long time. We hear often about our right to vote but not our duty. Yet, that is exactly how our nation was formed under our Constitution – to be totally dependent on self-governance. It’s “We the People”, not “We the Subjects of the King,” who have the duty to form “a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." We voters are the king in our country; we have the authority; and we bear the responsibility for our nation and our state. No one else - not the president and not the governor – but us.
Mid-term elections are primarily focused on state government. It is up to us in California to make decisions about how our state is governed, and there is much at stake. Unquestionably, the most important issue on the ballot is Proposition 1. The Official Voter Information Guide language would make one think that Prop 1 is merely guaranteeing existing law that legalizes abortion up to viability, but it is far more radical. Prop 1 would make legal the killing of a baby up to the moment of birth and would put that provision in the state’s constitution. Think about that for a moment. That procedure is gruesome, requiring the dismemberment of the baby in what is called partial birth abortion.
Who would do such a thing? In Pennsylvania in 2011, Dr. Kermit Gosnell was convicted of 21 counts of late term abortion for what would be legal under Prop 1 in California. He was also convicted of 3 counts of first degree murder for the deaths of infants (born alive), a crime which cannot be investigated by a coroner in California under AB 2223, passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Newsom in September. We saw videos by an undercover reporter with Project Veritas of Planned Parenthood selling baby body parts. The older the fetus, the higher the price.
Other bills passed by this session of the legislature expand the number of abortion providers, provide incentives, cover the costs for in-state abortions, and pay expenses to bring mothers from out-of-state for abortions.
It is up to us, the voters, to decide if this is what we want for our state – the most radical abortion laws in the nation. 83% of Californians polled disagree with late term abortion. It is our duty to express our decision by voting, and I will vote NO on PROP 1.
Arlene Wohlgemuth is the vice-president for Legislation at the East Valley Republican Women Patriots. Wohlgemuth was a 5-term Texas state representative and is a 6-year resident of Indio.