It's time to pass the Personal Care Products Safety Act (PCPSA)
I am the mother of two boys, ages 13 and 5, and I want to explain why my kids are eight years apart.
From the age of 32 to 36, I suffered seven miscarriages in a row with no medical explanation. In addition to infertility, I battled crippling anxiety, panic attacks, depression, chronic pain and constant fear. Doctors and specialists continued to tell me I was fine, I just couldn't have a baby. Perhaps I was just too old even though my eggs appeared healthy.
But I knew my body was capable of having a healthy baby — one look at my little boy at home was confirmation of that. So we decided to change our lifestyles by limiting our toxic exposure to dangerous pesticides and chemicals. And then we had another healthy baby boy, with no medical help or intervention.
Now I dedicate my professional life to helping others restore their bodies to optimal balance with real food, healthy movement and safer products. Many people understand the need for a healthy diet and regular exercise, but most do not know personal care products such as lotion and hand soap can be harmful to our health. The last major law passed in regards to the personal care industry was in 1938, and there have been over 80,000 chemicals introduced into our world of commerce since World War II. Less than 10 percent of those chemicals have been tested for human safety.
I am heading to Washington, D.C., to urge passage of the Personal Care Products Safety Act (PCPSA), which would update our laws and better protect consumers. The PCPSA requires the FDA to review at least five chemicals each year, and for the first time the FDA would be able to recall products which threaten consumer safety.
It's time for change. It's time to do something about this very important issue. I urge you to speak up about this, and I plan on doing the same with Alaska's members of Congress.
— Amanda Koch
JBER
Lawmakers accepting cash from the NRA are killing us
The most recent mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, (the latest in a long line of such events) so infuriated me that it is difficult finding the words to express myself. I fail to comprehend how anyone could envision the impact of the devastation visited upon the parents of the victims and not call for a complete ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
And as for the congressional members accepting cash from the NRA and then using their positions to prevent any reasonable response to halting these rampages of death by our homegrown crop of insane homicidal murderers I say this: If the money they accept isn't blood money then it's the closest thing to it. We definitely need some new legislators. This bunch we have now is just killing us.
— Albert Bowling
Anchorage
Let's just mind our own business in the restrooms
Regarding Proposition 1: For most women it would be more disconcerting to see a woman who looks like a man come into a women's restroom, compared to a man who looks like a woman. I imagine the same would apply for men. That said, how about we all just go in, do our business and leave, and not be checking other people out.
— Claire Wilson
Anchorage