News Jan 18, 2016 at 4:00 am

A Draconian Anti-Abortion Bill in the Washington State Legislature Targets Poor Women, Rape Survivors, and Planned Parenthood—and It's Only the Beginning

TELL THEM TO STOP: Scroll down for contact info for each lawmaker.

Comments

1
Thank you Heidi for this well-informed article, even with photos. I will keep this reference so that I can vote everyone of these folks (relative to my district) again! You have made my job much easiesr as a voter by providing this cheat-sheet!
2
This is a great article and great call to action, but it falls short in helping Stranger readers take action.

"Step two: Call and e-mail these anti-choice lawmakers and tell them you're watching and will work to defeat them. Step three: Work to defeat them."

OK, great ... we're with you, we'll call/email them ... but what should we say? Most of The Stranger's audience isn't represented by these people – a bit of prompting and "next steps" on how to take action would help your readers. Just a suggestion.
3
In summary, Republicans are, and continue to be, horrible people.
4
You may have wanted to include the fact that the name of this legislation is HOUSE BILL 2294.

It's kind of important to know which bill you're talking about when you write or call a legislator.
5
This is what theocracy looks like. There is no "culture war", this is a Jihad, a religious war. The code words in the media or the dog whistle phrases all have the same purpose and that is to inject religion into our laws. To require everyone to follow the laws of the governments favorite religion(s). We should at least call it what it is, theocracy. If you want to live in a theocratic state, move. Our constitution is quite clear about the people's law being held above any religious law. If you want to follow the laws of your religion in addition to the law of the land fine but when you try to force everyone to follow the laws of your religion it is just plain rude. It is wrong, unacceptable, despicable and un-American.
6
@1: Are you a corrupt white Republican male in lock step with the GOP and Tea Party? Then you're a glaring part of the problem. Thank you, Seattlebcc, for the warning. I vote, too.
Nobody--men, especially--has any right to dictate women's health issues, despite what the female pro-life lobbyists, such as LuAnn van Weirgen and others of her religious based ilk also claim.
Thank you, Heidi Groover, for sharing an informative article.
7
If no freedom is lost, but the use of government money is taken away then it is a war on women? Every person should have the right to do as they please with their body. It is a right for all Americans. But elective surgery being paid for by the government is a grey area. We don't use federal money for penis enlargements or boob jobs.
8
Funny that these holy hypocrites are against abortions and proudly spend billions of our tax dollars on WMDs on innocent civilians to support their for-profit wars.
9
Step Four (for those who live in these districts): RUN against them!!!! Many of these legislators never face a competitive race....change that.
10
#7 And yet, the government pays for Viagra prescriptions for men on Medicare and Medicaid. That is at least as much of an elective medication as penis enlargements or boob jobs, both of which are far less elective than an abortion in some situations.

It isn't as simple as "shut up and be a human broodmare, like Blonde Baptist Walla Walla Jesus commands".
11
Also, I'm all about contacting these legislators - but typically legislators only care about responding to their own constituents. Does that mean that Seattleites should not do anything? No! Call your own legislator to tell them that stopping these bullshit type bills should be a top priority....even your more blue districts have legislators that aren't very public on this issue. Call/email your legislators and tell them to be more public about supporting abortion rights. Call/email the governor as well.
12
Short is mine, I live in the 7th. Her husband is a crook (embezzled money from a local non-profit org) but she gets re-elected every time. Shea, Taylor and Scott all are regular speakers at Barry Byrd's Marble Community "God and Country " fest every 4th of July. A lunatic dominionist cult which has its tentacles around at least one Stevens County Commissioner and the director of the Tri-County Health District. We are not going to flip eastern Washington, or any hard core red area without a Congress and legislature that start delivering the goods for rural working families. The New Deal made eastern Washington blue for two generations. Rural America has essentially been in recession since 1970.

The fact remains that it is west of the Cascades where the Dems have lost the legislature. There are 17 House seats, 10 Senate seats held by Republicans in districts where Obama won in 2012. The reason for this (and Inslee's sad poll numbers) is that the House and Senate Caucuses, not local party activists control candidate selection and funding. And they continue to put up conservaDems who are less inspiring than Obama's warmed over Hope and Change was in 2012.
13
Amazing that Mary Dye escaped this list:

"State Legislator Asks Teens About Virginity Status"
http://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/20…
14
In number #10, I meant to write "far MORE elective than abortion...not far more".
15
And I just screwed that up again...It should have been "far MORE elective", not "far LESS".

The embarrassing part is, I'm stone sober right now.
17
@14: Well, ED is considered a disease, so while boners may be elective, medication to treat diseases is always going to be covered under a health care plan.

In the insurance world, there are elective and non-elective abortions, non-elective abortions are going to be covered as they are treatment for a specific medical condition/disease, but an elective abortion is considered not to be treating a disease, so it may not be covered.

Not weighing in on any debates, but that is how things work in the current health insurance market.
20
Abortion is murder. Women need support & a way out ( housing,job training, money management,help enrolling in college, or/and child care.)rather than take the easy way out& murder a child& cause emotional& mental harm by dealing with the guilt of abortion. Those in the pro life movement are actively providing these services in many states.having a child in a difficult situation is scary, but there is always caring, compassionate people who can help.and if the mother still doesn't want the child, there are many desperate couples who would adopt the child& give the baby a loving home.
21
@20: Killing doctors simply doing their jobs to assist women with healthcare issues (abortions are only 3% of services at Planned Parenthood!) is murder, too, as is sending kids to war at 17, but Republicans and Tea Party politicians don't want anyone to know that.
22
Ugh. Issues like this make an amicable divorce between eastern and western WA look really good.

Please wait...

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