UNDER THE DOME
National Legislation
On the national level, the 109th Congress is off to a fast start. CWA has a new Director of Government Relations, Lanier Swann. She formerly worked with Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina) and with Rep. Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) and comes to CWA with incredible skills that will be used to promote legislation, to lobby Congress and to keep us all informed. Keep her in your prayers as she makes this transition. Michael Schwartz has moved on to take the job of running newly elected Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Oklahoma) Senate office. We will miss Michael, but welcome Lanier to this new position.
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (UCPA [S. 51]):
This bill has been introduced by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) with 31 co-sponsors. It would require all pregnant women considering an abortion after 20 weeks to be notified that their unborn child will feel pain. They will be offered anesthesia to prevent their babies from feeling pain during the abortion procedure. When one considers the amount of empathy our society has for animals and their pain, it is only right that women consider the pain a baby feels during the abortion process. Of course, understanding that an unborn child feels pain may help women to understand that there is something more than just a clump of cells growing inside her and help her understand the humanity of her child. Project 535, a volunteer lobbying force of CWA women living near the Beltway, has lobbied our legislators on this bill. It would enhance their lobbying efforts if people in each congressional district would reinforce their efforts by contacting their representatives and senators. Of course, in the case of Sen. Brownback, thank him for sponsoring this bill. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
Child Custody Protection Act:
This bill makes it illegal for anyone to circumvent a state’s parental consent or notification laws by taking minors across state lines to states without parental notification or consent. S. 8 is one of our top priorities in this session, so contact your senators and urge them to support S. 8. On the House side, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) has introduced the House version of this bill. Wendy Wright, senior policy director for CWA, stated in a press release applauding the introduction of this bill: “Knowledge of their daughter’s pregnancy would give parents the opportunity to help her consider alternatives to abortion, like adoption, the health risks that result from the procedure, and would allow intervention in any abusive relationship where she may be a victim.”
Other bills on the radar screen:
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York), has said that he plans to re-introduce an amendment on the bankruptcy bill that could possibly deny peaceful pro-life protestors the ability to declare bankruptcy if they have been fined beyond what they can pay out of their resources. Michael De Primo, with the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy, said: “(It) would certainly be a content-based restriction of speech, and it would, in our view, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
Another bill has been introduced to promote condom education: the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act. This bill, according to Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), would “bring sex education up to date in a way that will reflect the serious issues and the real life situations that millions of young people find themselves in.” Pro-family groups assert that assuming that young people will engage in sexual activity is dangerous; rather, promoting abstinence is the only safe and sure way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Concerned Women for America of Kansas
P. O. Box 11233
Shawnee Mission, KS 66207
Phone/Fax: 913-491-1380
Email: director@kansas.cwfa.org
Web site: kansas.cwfa.org
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