As a Family Practice Physician in Louisiana who accepts Obamacare, I am seeing a lot of new patients with serious medical problems who have had no affordable access to ANY healthcare for years. They people truly need a doctor! And those I am seeing have ACA insurance via private, for-profit, insurance companies. There are still a lot of people who could have better access to needed care, with no increased cost to the state, had our Gov. not refused increased federal help! It's okay to want to make a point, no matter how heartless, but do not even think of doing such a callous thing at the expense of the lives and health of the people who live in LA! Please sign if you agree!

I have a very painful, incurable cancer and chemo has many negative side effects that medicinal cannabis could help alleviate. Please allow me the freedom to choose!

I never knew how much sugar could be hurting my ability to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. I've been overweight for 3 years, and I'm only now starting to see results in weight loss after paying attention to sugar content and processed foods with unnecessary sugar products in them. It's long past due to hold big food companies accountable for their role in the epidemic of childhood obesity, and to hold those in office accountable for supporting big food in return for monetary payouts.

SB 1531 was a rushed bill enacted after Oregon legalized medical marijuana facilities in 2014. It was a ridiculous bill to begin with, but it became null and void on May 1, 2015. Malheur County and its elected officials are breaking the law and many are being negatively impacted to the point of constant pain, mental anguish and even long-term hospitalization. Malheur County is in trouble for many reasons...this is merely the tip of the iceberg.

The side affects from the vaccines and the preservatives used in them have been proven to cause the onset of may horrible conditions and diseases. I DO NOT want to take that risk.

It's wrong for selfish governors to turn away the possibility of health coverage for the working poor while basking in their own benefits that those same poor people pay for them to have.

According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, between 80,000 and 98,000 Contra Costa County residents are estimated to remain uninsured this year. People without health care coverage generally wait to seek care until they are seriously ill. In many cases, health problems that could have been avoided with preventative care or treated early for little cost become significant and costly health issues. The impacts of this include increased demand on emergency services and increased costs to our healthcare system. Let’s build a healthier, stronger, and more prosperous Contra Costa County by ensuring access to healthcare for all.

My son attends grade school in Wisconsin and I want him to be safe at school and on the playground. Eliminating the 48-hour waiting period will put all Wisconsin families at risk.

Georgia hospitals need the funding allowed under the Affordable Care Act to care for sick and injured people. By not accepting the increased funding offered by Obamacare, millions of Georgians are negatively affected, hospitals are weakened, and many are closing or reducing services.

The misuse of antibiotics on factory farms - routinely feeding antibiotics to healthy animals to boost profits and compensate for filthy living conditions - is threatening our public health. The vast majority (80%) of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on factory farms, which makes these life-saving medicines less effective when we really need them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 million people contract antibiotic-resistant infections each year, resulting in at least 23,000 deaths. Tell your council members to take a stand for public health by passing a resolution calling for a federal ban on the use of antibiotics for animals that are not sick!

When a municipality creates ordinances and takes actions via citizen votes to control the power and proliferation of Biotech companies the result is a lawsuit by the chemical corporations. While the energy of the people is tied up in battling lawsuits from Biotech, chemical companies continue to push through ever-increasing numbers of patents to make trees, fish, vaccines and other GE products. We believe it is imperative that the Federal Government take a time out to study the overwhelming evidence that Genetic Engineering involves dire risk and consequences to human and animal health, to the economy and future of sound food systems. We are demanding a Moratorium to give time for review of important studies that have recently determined that GMOs and toxic chemicals and practices used in these systems are dangerous to health, the environment, our economy and a sustainable future.

Dear Colleagues in Faith, I am the Reverend Kathleen Peters, pastor of the United Church of Chester, United Church of Christ, and the mother of a 31 year old intellectually disabled young adult who lives at home with my husband and me. We and other families of disabled children with the Arc Connecticut have been fighting for just and fair treatment for our loved ones. Over the past thirty years there have been enormous cuts to the Department of Developmental Services, this year being the most profound and far reaching. For the first time, day program funding for 2016-2017 grads has been totally eliminated, vital Voluntary Services programs for Children and Adolescents has been cut 60% and residential/home supports have also been drastically cut. There will be no hope of any residential services until the death of both parents or other profound crisis. Please also urge members of your faith communities to speak out to your legislature about all cuts in services to our most vulnerable citizens. Not only is this a stressful personal situation for our family but it also one of great injustice. The care of our intellectually and developmentally disabled (I/DD) daughters and sons is what some of us have been calling a hidden and under-appreciated moral, social justice, and civil rights issue of our time. My husband and I and thousands of parents just like us cannot care for our children on our own. We need systems in place to ensure their care, especially after we are gone. Please feel free to contact me, Reverend Kathy Peters, at [email protected] /860-919-9030 or Shannon Jacovino Director of Advocacy & Public Policy The Arc Connecticut at [email protected] /860-246-6400. Sincerely, Reverend Kathy Peters