1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

This country makes parenthood unnecessarily hard. And now there is a lot of talk floating back up from the 1800s about how motherhood is women’s ultimate best destiny. They want us all to be moms but not give us any meaningful support. A one-time $5000 check? Insignifcant. A medal if you have a bunch of children? I’d lose it in the mess. So here’s what I want for Mother’s Day: Universal healthcare. Yes. The whole thing. Almost every other country in the world has this. We can do it too. Even with insurance parents go into debt to have children. The prices are inconsistent and jacked up. Parents have to stay in terrible jobs or not become entrepreneurs because they need benefits. They have to worry about premiums and out of pocket and networks. You want more babies? We want healthcare. Speaking of healthcare - we 👏 don’t 👏want 👏 to 👏 die. The bans on abortion are bans on healthcare and they are causing women to die. We like living. Don’t kill us. If you are not our doctor you shouldn’t make healthcare decisions. Also, both kids and moms are healthier and better off if the moms get to choose when they have kids, so birth control should be widely available and free. Quality, free public education. Ages ago we did this not just because parents want it, but because we recognized that an educated populace and workforce is a benefit to all society. Somehow we’ve lost that and now it’s all book banning and trying to kill the education department. I’m trying to figure out if grants and loans will still be a thing as my kids transition into college. It’s not reassuring. It’s not making prospective parents think that now is the time. Paid parental leave and public childcare. Another thing that has managed to not break the bank all over the world, but somehow America just can’t manage to do. This administration wants moms/babies? They can put their money where their mouth is. And speaking of money, don’t cut poverty alleviation programs. People are more likely to take on a financial liability, which a child certainly is, if they know that the state will step in and not let them starve should hardships befall them. All these threatened cuts are not giving safe feels. Expensive? Yep. Tax billionaires. There, I fixed it. Gun regulation. Require they be locked up. Red flag laws. When we’re afraid nowhere is safe for our children are we going to have more of them? We act like we live in a world full of scarcity. We don’t. We have an access problems. Some people can’t get what they need while others have way too much. We need to make sure that all our mamas and babies have that access and are getting their needs met.