As someone who is a proponent for smaller government, personal choice and less intrusion, my decision to vote NO on Question 1 on the third of March may seem like a contradiction.

We all have our unique reasons for our opinions and beliefs. On this matter, my reason for opposing the repeal effort is steeped in the memories of a childhood growing up with my disabled older sister Karen, who contracted infantile paralysis [polio] when she was 17 months old. Within a year of her diagnosis, the long-researched polio vaccine was released for use in the general population.

Although she survived for more than 50 years after contracting polio, Karen never walked. Her earliest years were filled with iron lungs, rocking beds, and fruitless spinal surgeries. She was required to use a wheelchair for mobility the rest of her life until the onset of post-polio syndrome several years prior to her passing, which diminished her quality of life even more significantly than the original poliomyelitis.

Parents make decisions every day about the health and safety of their children. I do not envy the struggle young families have in these times as they do their best to do what they believe is right.

Regardless of your vote and the outcome of the campaign on the third of March, parents will still have a choice. My hope is that everyone recognizes that no choice, action or inaction, comes without consequences.

I will Vote NO on Question 1.

Revive Civility!

Gordon Page lives in Owls Head