Constitution’s framers omitted something big

When you buy a dress or a blouse at a department store, it can be returned if it doesn’t fit right or is a bad color for you. Many financial contractual arrangements include an allowed waiting time before taking effect to ensure both parties are happy. Most grocery stores will refund the purchase price if a food product tastes bad or the packaging is damaged. Our beloved Constitution does not allow votes to be changed, presidents exchanged or sour tastes being refunded. For whatever reason, that noble document did not provide a satisfaction survey after the Nov. 5 election.

I submit that there exist millions of disillusioned Republications who never thought they had bought the product they got and would wish to change their vote from Trump to Harris. Somehow, they ought to have the right to do exactly that. What can the U.S. citizenry do to make that happen? Here’s my proposal to make that happen: (1) let the democrats in Congress set up a safe and secure website in the cloud. (2) Release news to the Nation that anyone wishing to rescind their vote for Trump and change that vote to Harris can do so by submitting a notarized letter signed by two witnesses to the established website. (3) Said news release clearly admits that this is not currently allowed by the U.S. Constitution. (4) Specify the contents of each Republican’s notarized letter to the secure website: The Republican’s verifiable name, that the voter considers themselves Republican and voted for Trump in 2024, that they rescind their vote for Trump recasting it for Harris, tnd that they have sent this and only this email to the website (confirmed by the witnesses) is their sole contribution to this revisionary election modification.

The POTUS is obviously going to point out — and rightly so — that this Action is clearly unconstitutional. My counter to that argument is minimized by involving the United Nations, the G-7, and all nations of the entire world. I submit, with confidence, that the vast majority of nations would condone the United States violating its own Constitution as a means of reversing the ghastly mistake on Nov. 5, 2024. These nations would recognize that the will of citizens in the United States — and, indeed, the majority of the citizens of the world — wish to reverse last November’s national election mistake!

— Robert Rothe, Boulder

Protect pregnant women at abortion facilities

I have worked in health care facilities for decades. We are subject to regulations and accreditation from many such organizations such as Joint Commission and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. CDPHE licenses, regulates and inspects hundreds of medical facilities including hospitals, birthing centers, ambulatory surgical centers and community clinics across the state.

There is a health care facility in Boulder that is not regulated by CDPHE and provides care to pregnant women in their second and third trimester of pregnancy. Such women have a 10% risk of any complications and a 1.7% risk of severe, life-threatening complications from the care they receive at this type of facility. The risk may be higher as statistics from these centers are often not included in statistics as they are not required to report complications related to the care provided. It is difficult to ensure implementation of standards of care without a licensing, regulating, and inspection process for second- and third-trimester abortion clinics. The Colorado Maternal Mortality Review Committee recommends that these health care facilities incorporate screening and treatment best practices, and that state oversight is required to ensure it is implemented.

Women seeking late term abortions at the Boulder abortion business deserve the same protections through prudent regulation as at all other health care facilities. Support HB25-1252, to protect women at second and third trimester abortion facilities.

— Susan Gills, Boulder