UPDATE:
THE BILL IS OFFICIALLY DEAD since it did not make it off the floor before cutoff.
It still doesn’t hurt to email your reps (especially if they are democrats), and we recommend you read about this bill as it is likely to come back next session (will have to be re-filed with a new number). This is a priority for the democrats.
Thanks for always being ready to take action this session! Happy weekend!
Last night the House was called to order at 9:20PM and adjourned 45 seconds later. The bill being considered is SB 5241, also called the “Keep Our Care Act.” The title is extremely misleading as the passage of this bill will result in many Washington citizens losing access to healthcare, especially those in rural areas.
TLDR: SB 5241 is a very bad bill and will be debated on the floor when the House is back in session on March 4th. Send your Representatives (especially if they’re democrats!!!) an email telling them to VOTE NO!!
The full scoop:
Senator Nikki Torres (R- 15th LD) said: “This is really going to create a health care desert.”
Representative Peter Abbarno (R - 20th LD) said: “This policy, I don’t think, protects those it is intended to protect.”
The bill would require a new reporting system and requirements during mergers and acquisitions, including providing documentation on how the leadership change would affect access to reproductive, so-called “gender-affirming care” and so called “end-of-life care” (assisted suicide). Essentially, it protects Washington’s “death agenda” and would force all health care providers to offer these services.
A large portion of Washington’s healthcare system is religious-based organizations including Providence and Peace Health. These organizations would be forced, under this law, to offer these services to patients in order to stay in operation. The Seattle Times reported last February that 48% of acute care hospital beds in the state are operated by religious affiliated healthcare organizations.
“A right without access is not a right,” Senator Emily Randall (D - Bremerton) said. “If we continue to erode access to abortion care, then our neighbors will not be able to access that care in Washington.”
Senator Randall is blatantly lying by stating that there would be “continued erosion” of abortion access. You’d have to live in a cave to not know that Washington is one of, if not THE, most PRO abortion state in the country with very easy access to abortion.
But that’s what this bill is ultimately all about. It’s about abortion access, so-called “gender affirming care” access - and don’t forget about SB 5599 passed last year that makes these available to children without parent notification!
Another huge issue with this bill is the power and control it gives to the Attorney General over these healthcare transactions, including oversight for 10 years following the transaction.
This bill is so bad even democrat senator Mark Mullet voted no when it came to a vote on the senate floor last month.
The House will reconvene on Monday to debate this bill (with it’s long list of Republican amendments to make the process as painful as possible). Please take 1 minute to send your representatives an email asking for their no vote.
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