Dear CWA of Washington Friends,
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil …” (Ephesians 5:11).
“… that you may wage the good warfare” (I Timothy 1:18b).
As I start to write this alert, I must ask if you are as tempted to be discouraged as I am? As I prayed for God’s guidance, He reminded me of the two verses I placed at the top of this prayer/action alert. May I encourage you by sharing that for the duration of a family medical emergency for the past two weeks, God has blessed our family in multiple ways, proving again that He is always watching and listening to our prayers. As Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
During my short hiatus, we have witnessed a state legislature celebrate the right to euthanize babies even up to the moment of birth (please sign CWA’s petition by clicking here), and a governor declares that parents should be allowed to choose life or death for their newborn child. However, gratefully, we also heard President Donald Trump declare that these children are created in the precious image of God and deserve our protection. In Jeremiah 1:5b, God’s authorship of life is proclaimed, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.” And then in Psalm 139:13-16, “For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” God has given women a precious, unique ability to carry the life God has created. Because of your participation, CWA will continue to stand and fight for that vital role and privilege to be honored and for all children to be able to open up the gift of life, the very first unalienable right listed in our U. S. Declaration of Independence.
ENCOURAGE-A-LEGISLATOR!
We are excited to announce that we now have 95 CWA of Washington volunteers praying for specific state legislators during the 2019 session. We still need another 52 willing prayer warriors to cover all state legislators with prayer. Will you consider joining this campaign to bless every legislator with prayer? For more information and to sign up click here.
LEGISLATION
There are some good and some very terrible bills being considered in Olympia. Please pray for/against these bills accordingly and then contact your legislators concerning them. Click here to find out who your legislators are and how to contact them. If you already know who your legislators are, you may want to simply call the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000, Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. or Saturday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Be sure to let them know that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Washington. To read the bills, check their status, and more, click on each bill number below.
Family/Sanctity of Life:
SB 5185 relates to abortion notification for minors. CWA supports this bill.
This bill supports parental notification of abortion, thereby reinforcing the importance of the family and parental authority/care and protecting minors and their babies from their own immaturity.
Current status: Referred to Senate Committee on Law and Justice:
Take action: Encourage the members of the Senate Law & Justice Committee and your state senator to support SB 5185 by moving this bill forward to a public hearing.
Education:
SB 5395/HB 1407 companion bills relating to requiring comprehensive sexual health education that is consistent with the Washington state health and physical education K-12 learning standards and that requires affirmative consent curriculum. CWA opposes these bills.
These bills change the original law which allowed districts to opt out and mandates that all state public schools participate. There is minimal parental involvement and no mention of religious or moral conscientious objection for either teachers or families. There is an opt-out and review of curriculum provision for parents or legal guardians upon written request, but no clear mandate to communicate this to parents. Click here to view the mentioned curriculum to understand why CWA opposes all mandatory participation. Sexual health curriculum begins on page 28.
Current status: On February 12, there was a public hearing on SB 5395 in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee. We await a vote. HB 1407 is currently in the House Education Committee.
Take action: Please contact the members of both the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee, the House Education Committee, your senator, and your two representatives to express your response to mandating this curriculum in all districts. Ask them to vote NO on SB 5395 and HB 1407.
SB 5082 relates to promoting and expanding social-emotional learning. CWA opposes this bill.
The establishment of this committee further strengthens the subjective social-emotional learning (SEL) requirements already in Washington’s public schools. There is virtually no parental involvement mentioned nor any mention of communicating with parents. An amendment to increase parental rights was rejected in committee. Also, there is a mandate to include SEL standards in teachers’ training with no consideration of moral or religious conscience protection. Who sets the standards for this SEL bill? Families need to be well represented and have access to all information about their child.
Current status: On January 25, the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education passed the bill and sent it to Ways & Means which had a public hearing on February 7; substitute bill to create a permanent committee to promote and expand SEL with certain duties and members, to include ethnic commissions, tribes, states agencies, schools, families, and others.
Take action: Contact the members of the Senate Ways & Means Committee as well as your senator and request that an amendment be added to protect a parent’s right to remove their children from this training when the teaching violates a family’s sincerely held religious or moral values. Schools need to do a better job of teaching objective subjects (e.g., reading, writing, and arithmetic) rather than interfering with family value systems.
Sexual Exploitation:
HB 1016 relates to hospital notification of availability of sexual assault evidence kit collection. CWA supports this bill.
In the case of rape, a woman needs the back-up of a sexual assault evidence kit. This bill would require that a hospital provide the necessary kit or have appropriate providers available or refer the woman to a local community agency to assist the patient in finding such a kit. This is an issue that CWA has been active on for quite a while, thus insuring that evidence is available for prosecution of the crime.
Current status: On January 14, it was read and referred to the Health Care & Wellness Committee; majority did pass and referred to the Rules Committee. February 5 read, and February 7 passed 96:0; moved to Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee.
Take action: Contact the members of the Health & Long Term Care Committee as well as your senator to support this bill to protect women and assist in prosecuting offenders!
PRAY! EDUCATE OTHERS! ENGAGE BY CONTACTING YOUR OWN LEGISLATORS AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF SPECIFIC COMMITTEES!
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
In His Service,
Maureen Richardson
State Director
CWA of Washington
wa.cwfa.org
director@washington.cwfa.org
P.O. Box 143
Woodinville, WA 98072
425-869-1923
Thank you for supporting our work. Please consider donating online to CWA of Washington. If you prefer to donate by check, please write that check to “Concerned Women for America” and put “CWA of Washington” on the memo line.