Letter to the editor – Josh Riley: A vote in favor

The issue in this year’s election for New Yorkers in the state’s 19^th congressional district is simple and can be boiled down to a single question. Do you trust Marc Molinaro to stand between the Republican party and your right to choose?

My mom was a lifelong Republican prior to Donald Trump’s presidency. She was also opposed to abortion… for herself. But she also would never have imposed that belief on another woman’s right to choose. My mom was able to make the distinction that her own beliefs and values might not be shared by others. And she accepted and respected the reality that America is a broad coalition of different ideas. She was part of a Republican party that once balanced fiscal conservatism with broader-minded social policies attuned to greater public sentiment.

The fact is, while a woman can exercise her rights to make pro-life decisions in a pro-choice world, a woman cannot exercise her rights to make the sometimes-difficult pro-choice decisions in a pro-life world. Such limitations are undemocratic. Your right to choose is what’s at stake this year. Voting for Josh Riley is a vote in favor of the right to choose. It’s the only honest option in a democratic republic form of government.

Freddy Villano, Ithaca