Letter: If the governor really cared about the sanctity of life
My comments in response to Governor Braun’s recent post.
If you truly cared about the sanctity of life, why do you never talk about the public health effects of your policies on prenatal development and maternal health? Where does Indiana rank in air and water quality, and what are the logical effects upon our children (unborn and born) in terms of infant mortality, low birth weight, birth defects, asthma rates, rare environmentally caused cancers, and neurological development (autism rates), especially near coal-fired power plants?
Our elected officials, the governor-run Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Indiana State Board of Health–and the Indiana State Medical Association–all are more influenced by wealth and power than addressing this elephant in the room. These groups never link pollution to the health of the unborn and to children’s health after they are born. You saying you are pro-life is hypocritical. You’re pro-life when it’s convenient and doesn’t cost polluting industries any profit loss.
Governor Braun, to add insult to injury, you are making a bad situation even worse by rolling back what little protective safeguards we have in favor of consistently catering to corporate interests regardless of how damaging they are to children’s health. It’s unconscionable. Your post today is disingenuous.
Under your watch, according to the EPA’s toxic release inventory, Indiana has the most polluted air in the entire nation–largely from many coal-fired power plants whose energy is sent far from where citizens are exposed to the toxic air. Indiana not surprising ranks near the bottom in public health and quality of life:
• Indiana leads US in toxic releases per square mile.
• Southwestern Indiana has a concentration of superpolluters among the worst on earth.
• Indiana leads the nation in toxic chemical releases.
• Indiana has the most polluted rivers and streams of any state.
Indiana fails to monitor its pollution and does not track autism, infant mortality, cancer, birth defects, etc., by proximity to pollution sources. Industrial profit consistently takes priority over public health.
Your and our president’s current disregard of science, denial of climate change, and ignoring pollution’s effects on public health–and now your unbelievable rolling back of existing safeguards and basic environmental justice rights of your constituents, especially in poorer areas, will make people sicker, shorten lives, and add exorbitantly to families’ healthcare costs.
For us citizens and medical doctors who have spent years researching and advocating for improved environmental and public health, additional knowledgeable people are engaging, and we will continue fighting this fight. The need for education, voter turnout, peaceful action, and advocacy is greater than ever.
Thank you to Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life, Valley Watch, Earthjustice, and all Indiana groups and citizens working to create a healthier environment for our most vulnerable. They deserve better from you. We shouldn’t have to fight our own government to have a cleaner and healthier environment. You should be on the children’s side, not consistently on the side of big money and polluting industries.
Rock Emmert
Ferdinand
