Enough using the Holocaust to justify hate. Enough using the slaughter of six million Jews, gypsies and LGBTQ folks in an attempt to sway voters. Enough lies about history to cover up a disdain for women and our rights. Video released of Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey comparing the Holocaust to reproductive health care goes too far. He needs a history lesson. Illinois NOW says enough.

Hitler had one goal: racial purity. Millions of Jews, LGBTQ people, gypsies and the disabledwere slaughtered with the goal of a pure society. Antisemitic hate, replacement theory lies and comments from Bailey must be shut down.

I am a Jewish woman who had an abortion, and I speak about it so others realize they arent alone. Illinois NOW works to ensure our state remains a safe haven for abortion care and not the dystopian, anti-woman society Bailey dreams of.

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A pregnant student must have the right to an abortion so their education continues. The single mother who works two jobs to feed her family must have the right to decide her future. A 10-year-old rape victim must have the right to an abortion so her life and her future are not jeopardized.

Abortion rights dont exist in a vacuum. Health care access, equal pay and voting rights are just the start. Racial inequities in health care create huge disparities in maternal mortality rates.

Housing costs and mortgage discrimination make living in a community with quality air and water unattainable for many. A lack of representation in government makes it difficult for many to have a voice.

As a Jew, I am sick of those using their religion to dictate what women can do. The Talmud says a child doesnt exist until it takes its first breath outside of the womans body. Before birth, the fetus doesnt have a life of its own. As an abortion rights advocate, I believe those who push religion into our government dont belong there. There must be a separation of church and state.

It is appalling that Bailey believes it is OK to use one of the most horrific annihilations in modern history to justify keeping us barefoot, pregnant and subjected to the whims of his religion. We must vote for pro-choice candidates and keep religious zealotry out of our government and our bodies.

Laura Welch, president, Illinois NOW

While I want American basketball star Brittney Griner returned home as soon as possible, I have to say her foolishness in bringing vape canisters containing cannabis oil into Russia has to rank extremely high in the world of stupid.

How could she not know she had these questionable things in her suitcase? The Russians dont believe her, and neither do I. If I were visiting Russia, China or North Korea, I would be afraid to bring along a safety pin.

While such countries commit atrocities all the time, their draconian laws probably lend them some semblance of uprightness and integrity. Brittney is not the first, nor the last, to end up in a countrys tangled web. Travelers to foreign countries best beware.

Kathleen Melia, Niles

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Those who push religion into our government dont belong there - Chicago Sun-Times