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As a political junkie and policy wonk, my generalized anxiety over the pending election seems constant with periodic spikes depending on the latest poll results. I looked back on my election column in 2020 in which I called it the most consequential election of my lifetime. Fast forward to 2024 and that sentiment remains with even more red lights flashing. The conclusion is the same. Participation and the choices we make matter. Tuning out is not a luxury that can sustain a functioning democracy.
The landscape for women’s health has been dramatically altered since 2020 and the end of Roe V. Wade with the Dobbs decision. The ending of fifty years of established precedent has effectively removed bodily autonomy for women across more than twenty states, endangering their health and lives, as well as the freedom to determine what is best for them and their families. Missouri is ground zero for draconian abortion prohibitions which pro-choice advocates hope to change with Amendment 3 on the ballot, restoring a woman’s right to choose.
Amendment A on the Missouri ballot establishes paid time off for workers and gradually increases the minimum wage. Bread and butter issues like these have an outsized impact on the families we serve at Nurture KC as parents navigate extreme economic inequality that hinders the ability of families to thrive.
In Kansas, the power of the vote was evident in the rejection of Amendment 2, which would have removed the constitutional right to an abortion and returned the issue to the state legislature. Medicaid expansion has stalled for a decade due to legislative opposition even though 70% of Kansans approve of expansion. Evidence indicates that expansion improves maternal and infant mortality rates.
At the federal level, there is already talk about revisiting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a program that has allowed millions of Americans to access health coverage and secure benefits even if they have a preexisting condition. Remember, under the old model, pregnancy was a preexisting condition
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