What would Jim Wertz do if elected to the state Senate? Read about his platform here

My wife and I are the parents of three wonderful children, including two strong, smart, artistic, and athletic young women. Those kids, and their future, are a big part of why I decided this year to run to represent Erie County in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

I think about our kids often, and refer to them just as much, when I'm talking to voters on the campaign trail. In so many ways, they've got it easier than how my wife or I had it when we grew up. But that's the promise of the American Dream, isn't it? That our kids might be better off than we were just a generation ago. 

I grew up the son of a single mother and a widowed grandmother, and it was a struggle. My mom worked full time, but her paycheck never seemed to go far enough. Thanks to a village of friends and loved ones, we got by even when the ends didn't meet.

That's why my platform — which you can read more about at jimwertz.org — is focused on the day-to-day issues and experiences faced by families like mine — both the one I grew up with and the one I made here in Erie. 

It feels like the issues we face today are more complicated — and certainly more polarizing — than the issues we faced a few decades ago. Maybe we just lost our ability to communicate peacefully and thoughtfully, forgetting that our friends and neighbors can think and believe differently than we do, as long as our collective thoughts and beliefs don't interfere with the way we all choose to freely live our lives.

As I listen to my children and watch them grow, I know that's the world they'd prefer when it's time for them to lead. It's humbling and hopeful, and I'm committed to making sure their generation is prepared to receive the world we leave them.

Believe it or not, my daughters recognize the right of health care and women's health care, in particular, as a fundamental issue of their time. They're being raised in the greatest and most prosperous country the world has ever known, yet they live with the prospect that they may not have access to basic health care needs when they need it. That's because politicians in Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg are attempting to weaponize and penalize a doctor's ability to prescribe and oversee treatments they were trained to provide.      

When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, it stripped millions of people of their right to bodily autonomy. This is not hyperbole. In the Dobbs decision, the high court overturned nearly 50 years of judicial precedent by declaring that no federal constitutional right to abortion care exists. The decision to regulate this safe and standard procedure was sent back to the states. At that time, 13 states had legislation known as trigger bans, meaning that constitutional protection was the only thing between restricted access to abortion and no access at all.

Since then, 21 states have enacted legislation to restrict access to abortion care, regardless of circumstance, and in many cases such legislation places the lives of women at risk by limiting the options for care that their physician can provide.

Despite the national landscape of uncertainty, abortion remains legal in Pennsylvania. This is a testament to the work of advocates and the commitment of our recent Democratic governors and legislators to protect reproductive health. But a person's right to choose is only as valuable as the choices in front of them, and the Center for Reproductive Rights, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the legal protection of reproductive rights, rates Pennsylvania as hostile.

Legislation, known as TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws, brought the closure of five clinics in the past decade. The legislation increased travel and wait times for patients in Pennsylvania and neighboring states. Coupled with other restrictions such as legally obligated waiting periods, state-mandated counseling, and limitations on insurance coverage, we still have a ways to go before women's health care should be considered protected in Pennsylvania.

The conversation about reproductive health care isn't limited to abortion. Implications for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the families it helps create have also been weaponized by extremists on the political right. The push by some of Pennsylvania's Republican congressional delegation to restrict reproductive freedom without protections for IVF is deeply concerning. That federal legislation is rooted in the same ideology that ultimately led Alabama's Supreme Court to consider IVF embryos as children, which is responsible for the anxiety of health care providers and patients alike. For now, laws protecting this important family focused medical procedure remain with the state legislatures. It's more important than ever that we elect people who support them.

As a candidate for the Pennsylvania State Senate, my stance is unequivocal: comprehensive reproductive health care is nonnegotiable. It's about ensuring that every individual has the right to make informed decisions about their body and their future. This includes access to safe and legal abortion, expanded access to and education about birth control options, and protecting and expanding access to treatments like IVF that help families start and grow.

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As we navigate these challenging times, I am committed to doing whatever it takes to expand comprehensive health care for all Pennsylvanians. This means working within the legislature to pass legislation that will roll back the restrictions which hinder access to women's care and advocating for policies that protect reproductive technologies like IVF.

The battle for reproductive rights is not just about policy. It's about people, and the health and well-being of our community.

Jim Wertz is seeking the Democratic nomination in the April 23 primary for Pennsylvania's 49th Senatorial District, a seat that is currently held by two-term Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin. Learn more about his campaign at JimWertz.org. 

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Democratic Senate primary candidate Wertz outlines platform for Erie