Nov. 4 is critical for our community, our families, our children, for women.

Recently we’ve witnessed an extreme swing to the right regarding women’s health. From Todd Akin to Rick Santorum, Republican candidates are signing Personhood pledges, vowing to declare a zygote a person and even making IUDs and some forms of birth control potentially punishable as murder.

Don’t think that just because it’s Washington and not at the national level, we don’t have to be concerned. In our own Washington state Senate district, the 30th District, we have our own cause for alarm: Senate candidate Mark Miloscia. Miloscia stands with his buddies Akin and Santorum in wanting to outlaw abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. He sponsored a bill in 2012 that would have done just that.

Women of Federal Way and the surrounding 30th District should be alarmed. Abortion should be safe and legal and rare, made so because women and girls have access to truthful sex education and access to reliable contraception. Miloscia is opposed to responsible, comprehensive sex ed and contraception. These personal and private decisions regarding health care should be between a woman and her medical caregiver, it is not a decision to be made by extreme right wing politicians.

Shari Song is fully committed to faithfully serve the interests of all in our community. She is a candidate who understands that women and their families are the best ones to make their own personal and private medical decisions and she is challenging Miloscia on these issue. She is working very hard to make sure every single voter knows what the stakes are in our district.

It is very, very important that every woman in our community makes her voice heard on these things that are so important to women and their families.

Karen Hedwig Backman, Federal Way