Hawaii

Testimony in support of HB 1184 – Relating to born alive infants

February 6, 2019

Dear Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Barbara Ferraro, State Director for Concerned Women for America of Hawaii. Concerned Women for America is the largest public policy women’s organization in the nation with thousands of members across the country.

We are supporting this legislation because HB 1184 would ensure the protection and promotion of the health and well-being of all infants born alive as a result of an abortion performed in the state of Hawaii.

It is no longer an abortion when the baby is delivered alive: it is a birth! Doctors and nurses must be equipped to do everything they can to save that live baby.

It is inhumane to leave a premature baby cold and alone on a table while it takes its last breath because of blatant neglect. What does it say about our society if we are okay with such practices? Once a baby is born alive, it has every legal right to life-saving measures, just the same as all the other babies born in the state of Hawaii.

As State Director for Concerned Women for America of Hawaii, I respectfully encourage you to support the passing of HB 1184 – relating to born alive infants and their medical care.

Barbara J Ferraro

State Director
Concerned Women for America of Hawaii
(808) 965-9834

[email protected]
hi.cwfa.org

January 30, 2019

Opposition to SB 686 – Legalization of Marijuana for the personal use, possession, and sale.

My name is Barbara Ferraro, State Director for Concerned Women for America of Hawaii. Concerned Women for America is the largest public policy women’s organization in the nation with hundreds of thousands of members across the country.

We are opposing this legislation because SB 686 would be detrimental to the state of Hawaii if passed.  We do not want to be like Colorado, which has passed similar legislation.  They are now experiencing more crime because of it.

Here is some information about Colorado after marijuana was made legal for personal use, put out by Rocky Mountain HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area).  There is a plethora of information about the problems caused by legalizing marijuana, though the information below is reason enough to avoid having the same problems here in Hawaii.

The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact, Volume 5, September 2018 update (https://rmhidta.org/files/D2DF/FINAL-%20Volume%205%20UPDATE%202018.pdf)

• The yearly rate of emergency department visits related to marijuana increased 52 percent after the legalization of recreational marijuana. (2012 compared to 2016)
• The yearly rate of marijuana-related hospitalizations increased 148 percent after the legalization of recreational marijuana. (2012 compared to 2016)
• Marijuana-only exposures more than tripled in the five-year average (2013 – 2017) since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana compared to the five-year average (2008 – 2012) prior to legalization.

As State Director for Concerned Women for America of Hawaii, we oppose the legalization of marijuana in Hawaii. We oppose the passing of SB 386.

Barbara J Ferraro

State Director
Concerned Women for America of Hawaii
(808) 965-9834
[email protected]
hi.cwfa.org

Dear Friend,

We are excited to continue our Encourage-A-Legislator (EAL) program into 2019!

Our EAL program is one of our most important programs. When fully implemented, each member of our Hawaii state legislature (25 Senators and 51 Representatives) will be lifted up in prayer each week that they are in session and receive an encouraging post card.  The EAL program is not an expression of political or public policy views. It is a program for encouragement and prayer for our state legislators. The goal is to simply uplift the legislator and to remind him or her that they are being prayed for regularly.

It’s easy! You commit to adopting a legislator and praying for him or her each week during the 2019 legislative session (January 16 – May 2).  After praying for your adopted legislator, you will mail the CWA of Hawaii provided postcard that is pre-printed with a meaningful quote and a corresponding Scripture verse. Simply write a few encouraging words on the card or just sign it, affix a postcard stamp and mail the card.

Are you interested? Now more than ever our leaders need our prayers and encouragement. 

Prayer moves the hand of God in the affairs of this state and nation!   I Timothy 2:1-2 commands us to pray for those in authority, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior …”

We are looking for your commitment today! Please reply by calling me at 808-965-9834 or

email me with your name and physical mailing address. I will then send your postcards and instructions just prior to the opening of the 2019 Hawaii legislative session.  

Also, please visit our webpage to find out how you can become involved in CWA of Hawaii. You are needed!

Barbara J. Ferraro
State Director
CWA of Hawaii
15-682 Puni Mauka Loop S.
Pahoa, Hawaii 96778
[email protected]
hi.cwfa.org

Dear CWA of Hawaii Friends, 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours! This past year we had legislative victories and defeats as we sought to uphold the Biblical values we hold so dear. Please click here to read about all the Lord has done through the ministry of CWA of Hawaii in 2018.  

Blessings,
 
Barbara J. Ferraro
State Director
CWA of Hawaii
[email protected]
hi.cwfa.org
 

Dear CWA of Hawaii Friend,

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13).

As I watched and listened to the dreadful attacks on Judge Kavanaugh, I couldn’t help but remember the time Beverly LaHaye spoke about how, when watching feminist Betty Friedan on TV claiming that she represented all American women, Mrs. LaHaye jumped up and said, “That’s it! She doesn’t speak for me or any of the women I know!” She then gathered like-minded women around her kitchen table and Voila, CWA was born in 1979! Mrs. LaHaye stood up against the anti-God, anti-family feminist movement, and now, nearly forty years later, the organization she founded is stronger than ever, still protecting and defending the family unit God created, sanctity of human life, parental authority, religious liberty, respect for Biblical values, national sovereignty, support for Israel, and more, all through the prayers and actions of our members!

We’ve Had Enough! Over the past few weeks, I understood how Mrs. LaHaye felt over 40 years ago as I witnessed multiple women in their diatribes against men, the rule of law, and even us, conservative Christian women. You know what I’m talking about; you felt the same way.  We’ve had enough! Christian women do not live on the left’s thought plantation, and we’re not enslaved by feminism’s, nor the media’s, perspective of the world.

Did you know that there were 400 women praying and rallying behind the Russell Senate Bldg. during the Kavanaugh hearings at CWA’s Women for Kavanaugh event? Some even dared to go into the Russell Senate Building and pray in the middle of all the chaos. I wish the mainstream media outlets had picked it up to counter the other side’s disrespectful and furious behavior. Penny did, though, do some great interviews on Fox. And President Trump tweeted about Women for Kavanaugh on the day of the vote as a group was in the Russell Senate Building once again!

Many Thanks! I thank Mrs. LaHaye for starting CWA, CEO and President Penny Nance, staff in Washington, D.C., and members around the nation for continuing to stand for Biblical principles through prayers and actions! CWA is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, and since 1979 CWA has stood firmly and consistently for our shared Judeo-Christian values and for our faith in the one, true God of the Holy Bible, knowing He is our Creator and has the best guidance for all of His people.

The 40 Days for Life Campaign is up and rolling with some amazing results to save the unborn. The current campaign runs until November 4. Click here for more information about 40 Days for like and here for information about the vigil in Honolulu.

Remember to VOTE!  As CWA Legal Counsel Mario Diaz writes in his book, Be Spent: Winning the Fight for Freedom’s Survival, “If we as Christian citizens apply these (leadership) principles when exercising our right to vote, America would have a better chance of continuing to be that ‘city set on a hill.’  Remember what the Proverbs say, ‘When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.'”

Please remember to PRAY FOR AMERICA! Pray for all those in leadership that they will acknowledge God’s prominence in the founding of this nation. As so many founders and others have stated, this nation cannot exist without religion and morality.

“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” -President Ronald Reagan

Pray for those who continue to stand and fight for their and our religious liberty and the free exercise thereof: Florist Baronelle Stutzman of Washington state, Coach Joe Kennedy of Washington state, Baker Jack Phillips of Colorado, and the Kleins of Oregon.

Pray for the upcoming elections.

Stand fast therefore!

Barbara J. Ferraro
State Director
CWA of Hawaii
15-682 Puni Mauka Loop S.
Pahoa, HI  96778
[email protected]
cwfa.org
(808) 965-9834

Thank you for supporting CWA through your prayers, actions, and financial support.

State Director’s letter to the editor published on WestHawaiiToday.com.

Saturday, October 13, 2018
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

New Hope Christian Fellowship Church Pahoa
15-3084 Government Main Road
Pahoe, HI 96778

Human Trafficking
in Our Back Yard
We defend the unborn, support the traditional family, fight sexual exploitation, and most importantly, we stand on Biblical principles. We are feisty; we are feminine, and we are making an impact in today’s culture.

This Feisty & Feminine Workshop will be on the status of human trafficking in Hawaii. It will include how to recognize it and what to do. We are honored to have Naomi Whitney, who is a member of an anti-sex trafficking group called Hoʻōla Nā Pua (hoolanapua.org) based on Oahu with members and various people involved on the other Islands as well.  Naomi is one of the main contacts here on the Big Island for this organization.

Light refreshments will be served.

If desired, for a $20 donation, attendees will receive both a Feisty & Feminine book and a CWA membership.

Dear friend,

Balance between both prayer and action is vital for all believers.  James speaks of this when commending heroes of the faith, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone,” (James 2:24). Let us keep this in mind as we consider the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Time to Pray and Act on Behalf of Judge Kavanaugh
The circus continues with regards to the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U. S. Supreme Court.  As you know, his opponents continue to promote confusion and hysteria about Judge Kavanaugh’s character day after day.

CWA CEO and President Penny Nance wrote about Christine Blasey Ford’s recent accusation against Kavanaugh in USA Today: Kavanaugh, too? Christine Blasey Ford’s Account is Missing Key Details of Assault.

Our own U.S. Senator and Judicial Committee member Mazie Hirono (D) has been outrageous in this process, demanding, “men of this country and the men in this committee” need to “just shut up and step up.” This is unacceptable! CWA’s Doreen Denny, Director of Government Relations, had a great comeback to Hirono’s comments, Sen. Hirono Should Step Up for Justice.  (Note that since the writing of this article a date of this Thursday has been set for the accuser to testify.)

Please continue to contact Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) about this nomination, despite their public statements of opposition to Kavanaugh.  Just as with nominations to lower courts, the opposition is attempting to obstruct this nomination by using delay tactics.  If our senators don’t hear from us and only hear from the other side of the debate, they’ll be able to say that we don’t appear to care or have given up on this nomination. Please do not give them reason to oppose President Trump’s second nominee to our highest court in the land.

If you don’t do it, who will?

Take Action:

• Call and email both of our Hawaii Senators Brian Schatz (D) and Mazie Hirono (D), and politely ask them to confirm the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Be sure to let them know that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Hawaii.

Sen Schatz: email and call 202-224-3934 (D.C.) or 808-523-2061 (Hawaii)

Sen. Hirono: email and call 202-224-6361 (D.C.) or 808-522-8970 (Hawaii) As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, please ask Sen. Hirono to both vote for the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh as committee member as well as when it goes to the Senator floor for a vote.

• Please send this e-alert to friends and family and also encourage them to both pray and act.

Please Pray: “Dear Father, thank You for Your mercy on our nation. We pray right now that You will lead the senators to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to continue that mercy. Help us thirst for justice and remember its true meaning. Forgive us for perverting it and seeking our own prideful ways, instead of what is truly good and true. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ― Edmund Burke

Barbara J. Ferraro, State Director
CWA of Hawaii
[email protected]
808-965-9834

Partner with CWA of Hawaii through your financial support. We are continually grateful for those who give to the work of CWA of Hawaii. When you give to the state, all funds are used for state projects. To contribute your tax-deductible gift to CWA of Hawaii, please send a check written out to “Concerned Women for America” with “CWA of HI” on the memo line, and send to CWA of Hawaii, 15-682 Puni Mauka Loop S., Pahoa, HI  96778.  Or, contribute online.

Your involvement, financial gifts, and prayers could not be more appreciated. Thank you!

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) is on the Judiciary Committee and has the responsibility of advise and consent on nominations. She cancelled her meeting last week with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a political statement against President Trump. This is rude and irresponsible. Sen. Hirono should give Brett Kavanaugh the courtesy of a meeting and perform her duties for the people of Hawaii.

This confirmation is too important for political games, Hawaiians expect more.

Act:
•Please contact Sen. Hirono and express your disappointment in her for cancelling her meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Encourage her to reschedule the meeting. Be sure to let her know that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Hawaii.
• If you would like more information on the credentials of Judge Kavanaugh, review these talking points.
• Please pass this e-alert onto friends and family.

Pray:
• Pray for Sen. Hirono. May she see the wisdom in meeting with Kavanaugh.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Barbara Ferraro
State Director
CWA of Hawaii
[email protected]
hi.cwfa.org

For many people today, July 4th is a holiday filled with picnics, friends, and fireworks. But it is also a commemoration of America’s Declaration of Independence. The freedom call was not only against a political and economic system, but it was also a cry for independence from the spiritual tyranny of the Anglican Church.

In 1775, there were 668 congregational churches in America.  Seventy-five percent of all Americans, at that time, belonged to churches of Puritan derivation. The religious makeup was 98.4 percent Protestant, 1.4 percent Roman Catholic, and three-twentieths of one percent Jewish. America was a nation deeply concerned with religious freedom.

Religious freedom today is far from what the original founders intended. What Americans wanted was a government that did not favor one Christian sect over another. The idea was never to erode Christianity through the separation of church and state. John Jay, after the war, described the homogeneity of America in Federalist 2 (*see below).

Competition between the various churches, early Americans thought, was healthy; it kept them from becoming complacent, comfortable and arrogant like the nationally endorsed Anglican Church. In 18th century America, men and women adhered to the Protestant conviction that all men and human institutions were fallible. Americans fought hard for seven year during the Revolutionary War to rid themselves of the shackles of imperial England and her state controlled church.

The men who called the people of America to independence were men committed to their country and the freedom of her people. They paid a great price for our independence and religious freedom: five signers were captured by the British army and tortured; 12 men’s homes were destroyed; two had sons who died during the Revolutionary War; one had two sons taken prisoner by the British; and nine signers of the Declaration died in the war.

This July 4th, let us remember those courageous men who helped to establish a free nation. Let us thank God for religious freedom won and exercise that freedom by reaching our generation with the Gospel. Liberty without religious freedom is bondage.

*Federalist 2

I have taken notice that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people – a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who … fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established their general liberty and independence. This country and this people seem to have been made for each other … Similar sentiments have hitherto prevailed among all orders and denominations of men among us. To all general purposes we have uniformly been one people. — John Jay

Blessings to you on this Independence Day, 2018.

Barbara J. Ferraro
State Director
CWA of Hawaii
[email protected]
hi.cwfa.org

More and more on a state level we are seeing both conservative and liberal groups wanting to change the constitution with a Con Con (Constitutional Convention, Article V Convention, Convention of States, Amendments Convention or a Con Con: Different names, but same concept. All done under Article V of U. S. Constitution.) Though on the surface it may sound like a good idea, it is a dangerous one.
Be informed, check out our new brochure, The Constitution is NOT the Problem.