San Nicolas, Cruz share their views on abortion, universal healthcare and gender politics at GMA debate
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Congressional candidates Michael San Nicolas and Ginger Cruz faced off Thursday in a healthcare-themed debate, where they spelled out their perspectives on abortion, the new hospital location, universal healthcare and gender politics, among others.
The two Democrats shared the stage without the third contender, Sen. Amanda Shelton, who declined to participate in the debate hosted by the Guam Medical Association at the University of Guam Lecture Hall. The congressional hopeful who will clinch the nomination in the three-way Democratic Party’s primary on Aug. 3 will challenge the incumbent Republican delegate, James Moylan, in the November general elections.
In national and local landscapes, reproductive rights have emerged as one of the most polarizing issues that shape public discourses and charge election forums since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Although the Democratic Party is generally a pro-choice advocate, San Nicolas is a self-declared pro-life. Guam, he said, must take the cue from the court’s ruling, which left policy decisions to individual states and territories.
“We need our local leadership to move that ball forward,” San Nicolas said, recommending that the question be put on a referendum.
“It doesn't even need to be a specific question. Just a very general question: ‘Do you support abortion policy on Guam?’” said San Nicolas, who served as Guam’s delegate to Congress from January 2019 to January 2023.
Cruz, for her part, said “everyone has the right to make the choices that they make.”
While saying she stands “for life in every stage of life,” Cruz said abortion must be available at least to rape victims.
“When Roe v. Wade was put into place, 65,000 rape victims got abortions,” said Cruz, who served as deputy inspector general under the Obama administration.
But since the Supreme Court’s turn-around on the landmark 1973 doctrine, Cruz said the option to terminate unwanted pregnancies had that not been available to rape victims.
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“You are basically saying that the rights of the rapists are more important than the rights of the woman,” she said.
In recent months, Guam has been preoccupied with open-ended discussions on where the new hospital should be constructed, amid the nearing expiration of federal Covid funds, which have been earmarked for the project but remained unobligated.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero insists on building the new hospital in Mangilao while the medical sector maintains that the old hospital site in Oka Point is the best default option.
San Nicolas said building on Oka Point “makes the most sense” considering studies that have recommended that spot, which is near the medical hub in Tamuning.
“Why is there such a hurdle to build it up in Oka? Why is there a demand to build it in Mangilao? I don’t understand the politics behind it. I think a lot of people are confused by it,” San Nicolas said. “It takes a whole lot of time to build a hospital. And the more we delay the building of that hospital, the more time passes.”
Taking no sides on the site debate, Cruz said, “I do not have the expertise to know where that is going to go.”
She suggested that all stakeholders sit in a room, “duke it out” and not leave the room without sealing a decision.
“It doesn't matter where; just build something before we lose the funding that is available,” Cruz said. “The money is coming up to a place where we're going to potentially lose it. That's an urgent situation that needs to be addressed.”
On the question of universal healthcare, both candidates agreed that such an initiative might be the holy grail for Guam because it presents an economic dilemma.
“That is something that we need to aspire to. It's going to be very difficult. I know it is going to cost businesses more money,” Cruz said.
“But at the end of the day, if you don't pay for universal health care and somebody who doesn't have insurance needs that critical medical care, they are going to end up in the hospital. We are going to provide that service anyway and the taxpayers are going to end up paying for it.
"Health care is not a privilege. Health care is a human right. Every single person deserves to have health care. A basic level of health care. We cannot, in our society, deny that to people," she added.
San Nicolas noted any proposal that would entail added costs to business is bound to face resistance.
He recalled that when he was a senator, his proposal to mandate health insurance for hotel workers was opposed by the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association.
“When these things come up, and these issues actually come before the policymakers, when we are all quiet as a community, we are not agents of change. The only ones that actually get the change to happen are the ones that show up and speak out about it,” San Nicolas said.
“We need to get our people covered. When you have people fighting for this kind of things, fight with them, because we need you there," he added.
Answering thorny questions regarding transgenders in sports and bathroom designation, both Democrats expressed cautiously conservative views.
“On a personal level, I really believe that we need to keep genders in their appropriate sports. Men should be committed to men's sports. Women in women’s sports. And if a transgender wants to compete at a sport, I'd be cool with a transgender sport. I'd love to see that,” San Nicolas said.
“I don't think we need to create lines that we need to stand firm behind and shoot each other over. Let's find ways to make it work for everybody,” he added.
Cruz agreed. “I think it's really important that the rights that we afford to every single human being are as many rights as we can as long as it doesn't hurt the rights of another,” she said.
“We need to think about different ways to afford opportunity for everybody to have a chance to participate. But what we can't do is we can't have rules where you allow someone to participate in a sport and you actually hurt a group of people," she added.
Would they support any legislation that would allow transgenders in women’s rooms? Both gave a negative response.
“I have a daughter, you know. Let's create a transgender shower if we need to do that. That's really complicated, but I would not want a transgender male in the same shower as my daughter, you know,” San Nicolas said.
“I do not think that somebody who is biologically male should be able to have access to a woman's shower. That is just not something that we need to have happen, Cruz said.
Acknowledging the sensitivity of the issue, Cruz added, “We have to be able to accommodate people in the best possible way.”
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