ACTION ALERT FEBRUARY 8, 2011
DRAWING THE LINE
Dear CWA of Washington Member,
I saw this anonymous quote in a local school, “Art, like morality, begins with drawing a linesomewhere.” At a church event last week, the speaker referred to the cross as a pair of lines, the vertical line serving as the plumb line and the horizontal line as the level. Concerned Women for America recently joined other Christian organizations in removing their support from CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee) because of the increasing influence and participation of GOProud. Those groups have drawn a line in the sand. CWA CEO Penny Nance commented:
We have issues with GOProud. I understand (ACU officials) want to be inclusive and you never want to appear to be unkind, but this is not about personalities, it’s about issues. They can’t embrace gay-rights issues and not run counter to social issues.
We are economic conservatives, and we believe those issues go hand in hand with social issues. (The Washington Times, January 3, 2011, “CPAC at crossroads: Meeting to include gay rights group” by Valerie Richardson)
The Washington State Legislature currently has some very complicated issues about which legislators have to decide where to draw the line in the sand. I urge you to read the legislative information below and make your own decision. If possible, read the entire bills to form your well-informed opinions at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/. CWA of Washington is drawing the line and agrees with Joshua when he said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the living God” and Peter and the other apostles from Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” These issues require much prayer and then faith to move forward to stand in a culture determined to sideline God and His Holy Word. Where will you draw the line?
LEGISLATION
I. HB 1366 and SB 5274 relating to limited service pregnancy centers; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; and prescribing penalties
There has been a tremendously encouraging public response to these two bills from pro-life citizens who support, volunteer and appreciate these free clinics that receive no government funding and provide alternatives to Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics. Please see our last alert for the many reasons CWA of Washington is opposed to these two bills (available at http://wa.cwfa.org under Alerts).
The good news is that as of this writing, neither bill has moved out of the original committees which held hearings. There were 500-1000 pro-life citizens at each hearing and excellent testimony in agreement with our opposition. Your participation is so important to stopping this attack on community clinics that encourage and enable women to choose life.
Please contact your state legislators again and encourage them to OPPOSE these bills: 1-800-562-6000. You can also contact committee members by going to the state legislature’s website to find your own legislator as well as committee members: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pages/home.aspx
II. HB 1442 relating to requiring parental notification for abortion, adding a new section to chapter 9.02 RCW; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency
This bill simply requires that “if a pregnant woman is less than eighteen years of age and not emancipated, or if she has been adjudged an incapacitated person, a physician shall not perform an abortion upon her unless at least forty-eight hours before the abortion, in the case of a woman who is less than eighteen years of age, he or she first notifies one of her parents; or, in the case of a woman who is an incapacitated person, he or she first notifies one of her guardians. In the case of a pregnancy that is the result of incest where the father is a party to the incestuous act, the physician need only notify the pregnant woman’s mother or guardian.”
In the case of extenuating circumstances, a woman’s guardian or the court can also be involved. The pregnant woman must also be fully informed of the risks and consequences of the abortion, no parent etc. shall coerce a minor or incapacitated woman to undergo an abortion except in a medical emergency, and penalties are imposed for violating this proposed law.
Basically, this bill will include abortion procedures with all other medical services under the law granting parental rights for minors subject to guardianship. CWA of Washington SUPPORTS THIS BILL. Please call your legislators: 1-800-562-6000.
III. HB 1267 relating to clarifying and expanding the rights and obligations of state registered domestic partners and other couples related to parentage; amending, adding, creating and repealing multiple RCW’s
This is long and very complicated bill with multiple facets. However, in the words of Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D-District 43), prime sponsor in the House, “I want to note that this is a large and complex bill that has a lot of moving parts. It affects literally every child that is born in the state and in terms of protecting and ensuring legal status of that child. And it affects all parents as well; so a bill of great legal significance.”
CWA of Washington OPPOSES HB 1267 for the following reasons and also realizes there are multiple legal issues involved on which we are not able to comment:
Modern medical technology has lead us into some confusing legal and moral debates. Most of us are aware of the wonder of in-vitro procedures that enable infertile married couples to have children, including frozen-embryo technology. However, this same technology has also enabled unmarried and homosexual couples to “produce” children, sometimes genetically linked to the couple, other times not with that link.
This bill seeks to legalize surrogate parenthood in Washington with a contract for payment of services (i.e. the pregnancy) for homosexual domestic partners as well as for heterosexual couples. It also seeks to exchange the terms “mother, wife, father, husband” for “parent and person”) as well as “sperm, eggs” for “gamete/gametes”, thus neutralizing the genders and promoting the concept that one can dispense with the husband-wife, male-female relationship and still produce offspring. We all learned in high-school Biology classes that is an extremely rare occurrence in nature or, for that matter, in God’s kingdom plan.
We believe this bill will further erode the unique relationship between male and female and the concept of “family” while threatening even the vocabulary traditionally and scientifically associated with reproduction. In addition, isn’t the so-called “compensation” (Sec. 1 (7)) dangerously close to compensation to a prostitute for the temporary use of her/his body with no other relationship implied? Could this be rationale for the legalization of prostitution? In addition, the fact that the woman carrying the child has no parental rights whatsoever except for abortion during the pregnancy seems bizarre and unacceptable for both the mother and the child.
A similar question has recently been asked in our state about adoption services that charge tiered prices to adopt a child. The question is whether or not this is akin to slavery or the buying and selling of human beings. In the words of a fellow state director, “We believe that surrogacy commercializes children. It’s about the dignity of the child as a human being, deserving of a mother and a father.”
We urge you to pray and ponder these issues and then decide where you will draw the line.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR THREE STATE LEGISLATORS TO DISCUSS THESE ISSUES! Toll-free Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000 or visit the state legislature’s website for more contact information: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pages/home.aspx
Citizen activism is a necessary component of a democratic republic such as we have in the United States of America! Pray, be informed and take action!
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9
In His Service,
Maureen Richardson, State Director
director@washington.cwfa.org