Letters: Valentine's Day marked landmark anniversary for women

Valentine’s Day marked landmark anniversary for women

Feb. 14 was more than a day of love and chocolates.

It is an important birthday for American women. Ninety years ago on that day, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote, became the law of the land.

Rights and opportunities for women in America have increased dramatically since 1920, but the battles are not all won yet.

Women still make less than men in the same job, in spite of the courageous work of Alabamian Lilly Ledbetter.

In fact, both Alabama senators voted against the legislation named for her that goes a long way toward righting that wrong.

Women in many professions experience subtle prejudices, leading them to feel not quite accepted regardless of their qualifications. Fortunately, most of us do not react by shooting our colleagues.

Unfortunately, women and girls in many parts of the world have much more than poor pay and job discrimination to fear.

Recently a Turkish father buried his 14-year-old daughter alive for talking to boys.

In India, wives are burned for not producing sons. In China, they are just divorced.

In many African nations, rape is a military and political weapon.

The list could go on.

I propose that American women celebrate our enfranchisement by becoming more forceful advocates for women and girls around the world. It is a terrible thing for half the human race not to be considered as equally valuable as the other half.

Perhaps we could organize a worldwide sit-down strike.

What would happen if on one day, all of the women in the world just did nothing?

Charlotte Ward
Auburn

Scheduled cut in Medicare must be rescinded by Congress

Unless corrective legislation is passed by the Congress and signed by the President before March 1, payments by Medicare to medical service providers — physicians, hospitals, clinics, diagnostic facilities, chiropractors and others — will be cut by 21 percent.

And what will be the results of this cut? Here are a few: Many physicians will be unable to afford to keep their Medicare patients.

Patients on Medicare will be unable to find physicians who will take them. Medicare supplement programs, including Tricare For Life and commercial ones, will no longer cover charges Medicare won’t pay.

Half of all cancer patients are on Medicare, and many cancer treatment centers will be forced to shut down and file for bankruptcy.

Many oncologists will simply retire, and fewer medical students will select oncology as their specialty.

Gerontology — the field of medicine devoted to specialized care of diseases of the elderly — will essentially vanish from the United States.

And what can we do?

Contact immediately Sen. Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and our senators and representatives, telling them to rescind this scheduled cut in Medicare reimbursements and, when that is done, to replace the flawed Medicare physician payment formula with one that provides stable and adequate annual Medicare physician payment updates.

John C. Frandsen
Auburn