On
Monday, a newly elected Washington State legislature will begin the new
legislative session. The Washington State Senate continues to be
controlled by a 26-23 Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) majority. Where
last year, that majority was comprised of 24 Republicans and 2
Democrats, this year it is comprised of 25 Republicans and 1 Democrat.
The Washington State House has a 53-46 Democrat majority, a gain of four seats for the Republicans.
The
primary task of each new legislative session is to pass a budget that
will fund operations through 2017. Last month, Governor Jay Inslee
proposed a budget that includes $1.4 billion in new taxes, including a
new state capital gains tax. That proposal has already been met with
some skepticism in the Senate.
But
every session involves debates over non-budgetary matters. The
influence of the abortion industry and the homosexual lobby is felt
every year in Olympia. Thanks to the persistence of citizens like you
and the courage of many legislators, their worst ideas have been stopped
in the legislature for several years.
But here is a look at four issues we think could be debated in the legislature in the upcoming session.
Abortion Insurance Mandate: Senate Bill 5026
would require every private insurance company in Washington State to
cover abortion. Every insurer already offers abortion, but under current
law individuals and companies are free to purchase insurance that does
not cover it if they prefer. This bill has been defeated in the Senate
for the last three years.
Forcing Religious Hospitals to Perform Abortions:
The abortion industry is increasingly concerned with the fact that
Catholic hospitals are merging with public hospitals because Catholic
hospitals are unwilling to perform abortions. Groups supportive of the
abortion industry held a number of community events around the state
over the summer and circulated a petition in support of legislation that
would require religious hospitals to perform abortions in violation of
their beliefs. We are not yet aware of specific legislation to address
this issue but are preparing for it.
Payment for Webcam Abortions: This
bill would facilitate payments from state sources for telemedicine, or
medical consultations done remotely via computer. While this would be an
efficiency in most cases, the abortion industry wants to be able to
charge the state for prescribing chemical abortions remotely. They have
used a similar strategy to increase their revenues in other states
because it allows fewer medical staff to prescribe more abortions.
Encouraging abortion providers to prescribe abortions remotely is
especially problematic in Washington State where there is no requirement
that parents know about a minor's abortion. As a result, encouraging
remote chemical abortions would create a situation in which minors are
getting an abortion without their parent's awareness and without any
medical professionals nearby. In light of the fact that chemical
abortions have killed women and frequently cause severe abdominal pain
and bleeding, this would be a dangerous situation for the girls
involved.
Banning Sexual Orientation Change Effort (SOCE) Therapy:
In 2014, an effort was made to make it professional misconduct for a
licensed therapist to help a minor reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex
attraction. The bill passed the House in 2014 but failed to pass the
Senate. Proponents of the legislation
claim that ice baths and shock therapy have been used in this therapy.
Proponents have provided no evidence that it has happened recently -- if
ever -- and it is widely condemned. It is also worth noting that
imposing therapeutic goals on a client for any reason anyway is already
professional misconduct. The real purpose of this legislation is to
create legal liability for counselors who communicate the fact that it
is possible for some people to reduce or eliminate same-sex attraction.
Previous version of this bill would have regulated licensed therapists,
even if they are pastors or employees of churches working inside the
church, making it a threat to individual liberty, parental rights, as
well as religious freedom and free speech.
There
will undoubtedly be other issues to deal with as well and we will keep
you informed of all the developments affecting marriage, life, religious
freedom, and parental rights.
You are encouraged to contact your legislators through the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 anytime you have a thoughts to share or questions to ask.
Save the number in your phone as "Olympia" so you can easily share your thoughts.
Remember,
in the legislature, without your involvement good things can't happen.
It doesn't matter who has the better idea, but who has the most people
behind their idea.
If you want to influence the policy that is made, make sure good policy is also good politics.
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