ACTION ALERT APRIL 14, 2011
PERSEVERANCE
Dear CWA of Washington Members,
Spring brings hope that the long, cold winter will soon be a memory; although where I live the warmth and sunshine haven’t yet arrived, and those spring flowers may drown before May comes! Do you ever feel as if you’re drowning in the culture surrounding us? It’s hard to swim against the tide-that’s when I remember that God is always there for us. Tribulations abound, yet His grace abounds even more: And not only that (hope in the glory of God), but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)
As we persevere in our promotion and protection of Biblical values in Washington State, we gain a greater understanding of why we are fighting to put families first. God’s plan for this world began with His creation and Adam and Eve as the original family with the commandment to be fruitful and multiply and to be good stewards of all He created. CWA’s vision “is for women and like-minded men, from all walks of life, to come together and restore the family to its traditional purpose and thereby allow each member of the family to realize their God-given potential and be more responsible citizens.”
Thank you for standing with CWA of Washington, praying, educating yourself on the significant cultural issues we face and influencing others around you. If you are interested in forming a Prayer/Action Chapter or a Home Team, please contact the main office, and we’ll help you include others in that vision.
LEGISLATION
ESSHB 1267 passed the State Senate on Tuesday, April 12, in a watered-down version. The good news is that a striking amendment was proposed that eliminated ALL the language pertaining to compensated surrogacy, which is a huge defeat for those who lobbied so hard for that. The arguments and comments by the groups opposed to this bill and by you, the citizens, on the commercialization of childbearing, a relationship to prostitution and human trafficking, the best interests of children, buying parental rights, etc. were heard by the senators, as evidenced by the TV coverage of the senate floor debate Tuesday afternoon. While we did not manage to defeat the whole bill in the senate, the fact that the majority of the senators voted to strike all the language regarding paid surrogacy is a huge victory for families and women and children in particular.
As passed in the senate, 1267 would bring major changes to Washington’s parenting laws, basically equalizing parenting laws and language for heterosexual and homosexual couples. Symbolically, most gender-specific words (e.g. mother, father, male, female) have been replaced with gender-neutral words (parent, person).
For your information, there was an article in The Seattle Times Local News (Originally published Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 6:09 PM). Here is a bit of that article:
“When you put money into the mix, that becomes problematic and there is the potential for abuse because of the financial motive,” said Sen. James Hargrove, D-Hoquiam.
But Rep. Jamie Pedersen, the bill’s main sponsor, said he was not disappointed by the Senate’s action because it kept the bill alive, albeit in an altered form.
“To get us to the point where we needed to be to move out of the Senate, we needed to retreat – I hope temporarily – on surrogacy,” the Seattle Democrat said Tuesday evening. “The bill and subject matter are now eligible to be discussed until the [April 24] end of session.”
The bill now returns to the House, where it was adopted last month with the surrogacy provisions intact.
Pedersen said he’s hopeful lawmakers can reach an agreement on compensated surrogacy, though he acknowledged that “some people fundamentally will never be able to accept it.”
NEXT STEP: Clearly, Rep. Pedersen has no intention of letting up on the paid surrogacy issue, so now we start Round 2!
Since the senate version of 1267 is significantly different from the house version, there will be an attempt to reach concurrence on the bill’s content. If an acceptable agreement is made, both houses will have to pass that new bill before April 24 in order for it to become law. If no agreement is reached, the bill will die.
Thank you for your prayers and for contacting senators in Olympia. We now need to focus that same level of energy on the House of Representatives members, educating them to the dangers of making childbearing into a business and babies into a commodity, as well as the legal and ethical concerns we have.
LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000
OPEN M-F 8:00 A.M. 8:00 P.M, SAT 9:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M.
Please do not grow weary of doing good, no matter how frustrating living in this rebellious and lost world can be! Stay in the battlefield with us and continue to pray for those in authority, that their hearts will be softened to God’s ways and their eyes and ears opened to the facts and truth about this issue rather than simply going along with a politically correct mantra that actually harms the culture and demeans the importance of healthy, balanced mother-father families as originally designed and of a woman’s unique ability to bear children.
EVENTS
40 DAYS FOR LIFE prayer vigil continues through Sunday, April 17. Please go to their website for local activities.
REGIONAL MEETINGS COMING! Please let us know if you are interested in having a CWA meeting in your town or city. You may reach us by telephone or e-mail using the information below.
Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
In His Service,
Maureen Richardson
State Director
P.O. Box 143
Woodinville, WA 98072
Tel/fax 425-869-1923
E-mail Maureen today!
Click here to find out who your representative is and how to contact them. Simply put in your zip code. It’s easy!
Attached: 2011 Membership Form. Please help us stay in the battlefield by renewing or beginning your annual membership. Thank you in advance for your faithful support!