Daily Camera (Boulder)

Who could oppose universal health care?

Stopping at the “Mothers of Gynecology” monument in Montgomery, AL, on a civilright­s tour of the South last week, I learned about slave women in the 1840s who were subjected, without anesthesia, pain relief or their consent, to experiment­ation by the so-called “father of gynecology,” J. Marion Sims.

The statues that comprise the monument incorporat­e painful symbolism. One woman’s womb has been removed; it sits nearby, full of sharp objects like cut glass, needles and medical instrument­s. Medical scissors are attached to another woman and still another wears a tiara created out of a speculum — a device Sims invented for vaginal exams that often, before its refinement, caused excruciati­ng fistulas. The names of the women, all Black, are welded to the statues.

Dr. Sims could never get away with his form of cruelty today. But aren’t we, the citizens of Colorado and of the United States, perpetuati­ng our own form of medical cruelty by denying access to needed care by discrimina­ting against those without money, insurance or both?

Reverend/senator Raphael Warnock, whom we heard at the First Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, told the story of a public health nurse who had spent her career providing health care to those who needed it but, when she developed incapacita­ting headaches, couldn’t afford to go to a doctor. He asked, “What kind of God would permit that”?

I ask, “What kind of society would deny its citizens access to medical care?” I also ask who, besides insurance companies and wealthy healthcare providers, could oppose universal health care?

No less than the rights to assembly, free speech and voting, every citizen should have the right to be taken care of medically when necessary. Having that right should begin in Colorado, and I ask everyone who reads this letter to contact your state representa­tive to urge her/ him to support HB24-1075. Talk, please, with neighbors, friends and relatives about this important legislatio­n and encourage them to do the same.

— Barbara J. Kelly, Broomfield