To the Editor:
Last Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, thus eliminating what has been deemed a constitutional right for nearly 50 years: the right to legal abortion.
Even as we reaffirm our commitment to respecting individual differences in beliefs and values, as presidents of colleges that were founded for women, we are deeply concerned about the effect this ruling will have on women’s lives and the lives of people of all genders who will be denied or will have limited access to reproductive health care.
History and research suggest that this ruling will have a negative influence on college access, graduation rates and employment trajectories, and that people of color and those with limited incomes will be most negatively affected.
We will continue to provide reproductive health care on our campuses, which are situated in states where it is possible to do so. We will also work to inform students of the best way to obtain access to the full range of reproductive health care. Still, we want to make clear that we do not believe that the rights of Americans should be limited by geography.
We urge everyone to speak out and actively participate in our democracy. As Coretta Scott King said: “The struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.”
Sian Leah Beilock, Barnard College
Elizabeth H. Bradley, Vassar College
Kimberly Cassidy, Bryn Mawr College
Paula A. Johnson, Wellesley College
Kathleen McCartney, Smith College
Sonya Stephens, Mount Holyoke College
The Supreme Court and the Coach Who Prayed
Students who get benched because they don’t join in the Christian team prayer before or after a game. Students who don’t get playing time because they won’t go to the Christian varsity (or some other) pizza lunch offered at school. Students who lose their starting spot on the team because they missed a game (or even a practice) for the High Holy Days.
The End of Roe v. Wade
Commentary by Times Opinion writers and columnists on the Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to abortion.
And tell me again how exactly we have separation of church and state in this country, and how Monday’s Supreme Court ruling makes us a more perfect union.
Stephanie M. Alexander
Charleston, S.C.
To the Editor:
I wonder if the court’s conservative majority would have ruled for the coach if he were Muslim and his prayers were to Allah?
Perhaps Democrats should put forth a test case to determine how religiously tolerant the conservative majority really is.
Robert Cheikes
Valley Cottage, N.Y.
To the Editor:
Remember how we marveled at evangelical Christians supporting a candidate like Donald Trump, who seemed to embody the antithesis of Christian values in his personal life? They obviously knew what they were doing.
Alan Rutkowski
Victoria, British Columbia
Putin’s ‘Nakedly Imperialist Project’
To the Editor:
Re “Destruction Without End,” by Linda Kinstler (Opinion, Sunday Review, June 19):
Russia’s move to “Russify” occupied areas of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s identification with Peter the Great lay bare what was long apparent: that Mr. Putin’s stated concerns about NATO expansionism and easily debunkable accusations of Nazis in Kyiv were mere facades for a nakedly imperialist project.
Mr. Putin seeks not only to dominate his neighbors but also to destroy them — and to envelop them within Russia, much as the Soviet Union did in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.
For Mr. Putin, milestones are important, and he understands that time is on his side; he need not worry about elections or shifting political winds. He thinks he can not only outwit the West but also outlast it.
It is imperative that we prove him wrong. Attention spans are short, and the media gets bored, but we must stay focused on important long-term goals in the interest of democracy and freedom. The only way to defeat Mr. Putin is to stand up to him — and not engage in illusory appeasement.
The West must fully support Ukraine with heavy weaponry in sufficient quantity to survive in a war of attrition and maintain Ukrainian sovereignty. Russia must be isolated to the extent feasible — requiring Europeans to cease their addiction to Russian oil more quickly and completely.
Daniel Dolgicer
Tel Aviv
A Democratic Strategy That Could Backfire
To the Editor:
Re “Democrats Aid G.O.P. Extremists, Hoping to Beat Them in Fall” (front page, June 17):
I despair at the short memories of campaign strategists in the Democratic Party who think helping the most extreme right-wing G.O.P. candidates in the primaries will help more Democrats win in November.
A mere seven years ago, a brash television personality with zero public office experience, but enough personal and professional negative baggage to fill the holds of 10 jumbo jets, descended on an escalator and announced his bid for the highest office in the land.
Some Democrats were elated; there was no way the preposterous Donald Trump could ever be elected president of the United States! I have no idea if any Democratic fat cats contributed to his campaign, hoping he’d be nominated at the G.O.P. convention and then have his head handed to him in November, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
How’d that work out, guys?
David English
Acton, Mass.
