Support the developing workforce

To the Editor:

America is facing a massive shortage of skilled labor, teachers and nurses, among other occupations. The institutions that heal the sick, educate our children and raise our buildings from the ground are being starved of the talent that they need to succeed.

Colleges in America, both two-year and four-year, play an important part in providing the talent needed to fill those roles, paving the way into the middle class for millions of working Americans. Unfortunately, these opportunities are increasingly restricted to those whose families can afford to take on massive amounts of debt, as the cost of college has increased by more than 160 percent since 2000. This limits opportunities for students from working-class backgrounds, and hurts our economy in the long run.

To keep costs under control and keep the American Dream alive, politicians need to enact tuition freezes, so students can get the education and training they need to build the future of the country.

We, as the Minnesota State-Mankato College Democrats, feel the pain of our fellow students. While some of us have significant support from family, many are beginning to fall into crippling debt. The costs here and across our state forces families to adapt in ways that are not conducive to the communities developing across rural Minnesota. We need to support our developing workforce not burden it. All members of our community should be allowed to thrive in our state.

Emma Fuhrman

Mankato

Abortion killing innocent babies

To the Editor:

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These three rights are strongly defended and loved by the American people. Wars have been fought over this fact.

During World War II, America helped put an end to the Nazi concentration camps in Europe. Now there is an even greater holocaust going on within our own borders: abortions, the intentional killing of human babies.

I am pro-life and I believe that life starts at the moment of conception. The science of embryology established that from the earliest stages of development you were a distinct, living and whole human being. You were not just a blob of cells. You were already a whole living member of the human family, even though you had yet to mature.

There is no essential difference between the embryo you once were and the adult you are today. Differences of size, level of development, environment and degree of dependency are not good reasons for saying you could be killed then but not now.

So here are some statistics from the Centers for Disease Control on the number of abortions (chemical and surgical) performed in this country in 2015. The number of U.S. abortions is estimated at 826,199. Now mind you, not all states report abortions to the CDC. The lack of mandatory abortion reporting for all 50 states hampers its ability to accurately report the number of abortions in the U.S.

More than 25 percent of all abortions are chemical and nearly 75 percent of abortions are surgical. About 15,000 abortions are attributed to rape and incest, representing 1.5 percent of all abortions.

Another interesting fact from the CDC is that there are 2.7 million deaths (not including abortions) annually in the U.S. Gun-related deaths from all sources (violent acts, suicides, accidental discharges etc.) total 38,000 and account for 1.5 percent of the total. If we add the number of deaths of babies from abortions, the total in the U.S. comes to more than 3.6 million. So almost 25 percent of the deaths in the U.S. are attributed to abortions.

Justice for all means protecting the rights of the unborn child. Life is a civil right. An unborn child is always innocent. Death is not the answer to an unwanted baby.

In this country, it is illegal to harm eagle eggs as you can be fined up to $250,000 and up to two years in jail. Why do we allow the slaughter of innocent babies that are more valuable than a bird?

Be a voice for the unborn and the sanctity of all human life. Contact your elected representatives in Washington, and in the state where you live. Teach your children that abortion is wrong. The saying “God bless America” is commonly heard in our country. The question is, will God bless an America that sanctions the slaughter of innocent children? Even more, will God bless those who, yet disagreeing with this evil, stand by showing no concern or in keeping silent on this issue? There is one more thing. Watch the movie “Unplanned.” It’s a game-changer.

Lola Schultz

Blue Earth