Former governor Paul LePage’s “abortion only affects a few and I’m busy with other matters” position strikes right to the heart of the peripheral.

I’m agnostic about abortion, but I’m not about my privacy. This issue, and its obvious consequences, represent the greatest threat to my personal freedom to date. I’m a 75-year-old man.

Whatever happened to the Maine Republican Party to which I used to belong? Conservatives used to be most concerned about government intrusion and overreach. Now it appears this same party wants to make the most sensitive, personal and difficult choice a government decision.

I abhor the term “real Mainer.” But I would venture one attribute of “real Mainers:” we just damn well want to be left alone.

Charles Miller
Portland