Kansas pastor: A yes vote on abortion constitutional amendment would restore my freedom

About freedom

Voting yes on Kansas’ Value Them Both constitutional amendment would restore freedom to Kansans. Voting no would impose a particular worldview with no opportunity for Kansans to discuss the matter.

Regardless of the vote, abortions will continue Aug. 3. This vote would restore the right to have a public debate on what happens in the state regarding abortion.

Those promoting a no vote want to take away my freedom even to enter this discussion through my elected officials. I have opinions from my faith background. As a pastor and a Kansas resident, I have the right to speak and share what I believe to be right and wrong. The Value Them Both amendment would restore my freedom to do that through my legislators. Right now, all Kansans do not have that right.

Voting no would keep that right from us and impose an unfettered right to abortion on our state. That is not freedom.

Freedom is the hallmark of our state and our nation. Tell your neighbors that freedom matters and to vote yes with me. It is the American thing to do to have our freedoms restored.

- David R. Beauchamp, Pastoral elder, Westside Family Church, Leavenworth

It’s foregone

Elizabeth Kirk must think we are brainless idiots. (July 12, 5A, “Vote yes on Kansas’ Value Them Both”) She piously lectures that voting yes on the amendment to the Kansas Constitution on the Aug. 2 ballot would promote dialogue. She ignores the rabid Republicans in the Legislature who are salivating at the opportunity to ban all abortions.

- James Driscoll, Overland Park

Help readers

The new federal program supporting tutors and mentors is spot-on. (July 11, 5A, “COVID relief funds can help students left behind”) Working with students one-on-one is an effective solution to recover pandemic-related learning loss. Lead to Read KC is leading the charge in Kansas City.

Each week, Lead to Read KC pairs adult reading mentors with first- through third-grade students to support social, emotional and reading skills. During the 2021-22 school year, 553 students had personal Lead to Read KC reading mentors, in person or virtually.

In response to the pandemic, 515 students participated in our new individualized, high-dosage tutoring using certified teachers. The results: Ninety-eight percent of students improved reading by at least two levels, and 51 students improved more than 10 levels.

Learning gaps manifest in many ways. But if children can read on grade level by third grade, they are on a trajectory for success in school and life.

The issue is urgent, and there is a role for everyone. Schools and child care centers’ after-school programs can enroll students in Lead to Read KC tutoring. Individuals can become reading mentors, volunteering one lunch hour a week. Go to leadtoreadkc.org to learn more.

- Pauly Hart, Executive director, Lead to Read KC, Kansas City

Get out ahead

Every hour counts. Too often, individuals are admitted to the hospital in a gravely ill state that has been ignored without knowing how serious the problem is. A person might initially experience symptoms of an infection, but was he taught what these symptoms might be?

Symptoms are ignored when, unbeknownst to the patient, a more severe, insidious infection is spreading. Five days pass, and this individual is profoundly confused. A family member takes him to the emergency room, where blood work reveals a severe infection, known as sepsis, and the patient is now in septic shock.

As a registered nurse who experiences scenarios like this firsthand, I believe the lack of education in our schools on body systems and processes, and when to seek care, contributes to the rising costs of the American health care system. For instance, if an individual has been educated about his kidneys’ fundamental role, he might realize that when he stops making urine, his kidneys are shutting down.

According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, time is of the essence with sepsis. Every hour delayed requires significantly more costly lifesaving interventions than if the problem had been addressed sooner.

- Randi Mills, Olathe