I read the front-page article “State mulls nonbinary option for birth record” (Sun Journal, Feb. 21) in complete astonishment. It has always been my understanding that a birth certificate is meant to establish, for the record, a person’s identity, date and place of birth and parental identity. I assume a person could be born with […]

In 1986, the federal government passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. It was established to protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits related to vaccine injuries. The taxpayer-funded program has awarded more than $4 billion in compensation to victims of vaccine injury to date. In Maine, mandatory vaccination for students and health care workers is now […]

It is critical for people to discuss climate emergency. The truth is frightening and apocalyptic fear is valid. Accept those feelings. At 1.1 degrees, it is already too hot. Past our tipping point, we must declare. We must act. Since 1912, we have known that fossil fuels affect climate. In 1967, S. David Freeman had […]

In spite of the campaign signs, Question 1 on the ballot March 3 has nothing to do with Big Pharma. Passage of Question 1 would allow parents to not vaccinate their children from disease and still send them to public schools. If it passes, someone in Maine will die. That person could very well be […]

President Donald Trump is known for his severe and chronic immoral behavior. He bragged that he could grab a woman’s genitals. In a New York magazine, Jean Carroll, in her forth-coming memoir, wrote that a chance encounter with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman’s store in late 1995 or 1996 turned violent. He asked her to try […]

As a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Richard Cherwitz is likely accustomed to lecturing people. In his column in the Sun Journal (Feb. 16), instructing Mainers how they should vote in the next election, however, it is obvious that he is not an expert on the subject matter. Living 2,000 miles away […]

I would encourage all parents to, please, vaccinate their children. The diseases we were given shots for when we were young are still out there. Mumps, measles, small pox and even polio are still in our world. What would a parent tell their child if the child contracted polio? When that child asks why they […]

It was disappointing to read John Libby’s letter to the editor (Sun Journal, Feb. 14). He, like many others, is making two fundamental errors when thinking about “freedom.” First, it trivializes the concept of “freedom” to conflate the “freedom to be foolish” with what the ideals of freedom could and should be. Imagine you live […]

I am writing to draw attention to LD 1984, “An Act to Eliminate Waiting Lists for Home and Community-Based Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, Brain Injury and Other Related Conditions.” There are currently more than 1,600 Maine residents on the waiting list for waiver 21, which provides heightened support, including group/residential home services, […]

As a dentist and past president of the Maine Dental Association, I am concerned about our community health and will be voting “no” on Question 1 on March 3. I am alarmed at the reports of outbreaks of disease, including whooping cough, mumps and measles, that have become commonplace in the media. These outbreaks put […]