Wonderful news! Late last week, we learned that the Assisted Suicide bills in the MA legislature have both FAILED. Technically, they were “sent to study,” which effectively kills them for the remainder of the 2017-2018 legislative session. Suicide advocates will now have to refile legislation in January of 2019 and begin the whole process anew. This win comes despite the Mass Medical Society going “neutral” on the issues of doctor prescribed suicide last fall, and much credit should be given to the doctors who stood for life at the State House in late January. Many thanks to those pro-life physicians and to all of you who contacted your legislators just a few weeks ago to tell them you opposed these bills.
More good news: On Friday, a new version of the Criminal Justice Omnibus bill was released on Beacon Hill, reconciling earlier versions from both the House and Senate. I was relieved to see that the language previously passed by the senate, which decriminalized particular “consensual” sexual activities between adults and minors, was NOT in the new version. In fact, the entire provision lowering the age of consent for sex in certain cases was dropped. This is good news and another indication of the power of merely shining a spotlight on bad bills.
On the other hand, the bill does require that male inmates who identify as female be strip-searched by, and housed with, women, or whatever “gender identity” they choose. I am scheduled to talk about this at 6:35 p.m. tonight on the Howie Carr show. Tune in to learn more!
Late Friday night, I spoke with a reporter from WBUR about the Trump Administration’s memo effectively restoring the prohibition on transgenderism in the military. This policy restores the common sense approach in place until about 18 months ago. It ensures not only the minimal privacy expected by service members in often spartan environments, but also maintains the priorities of military readiness and fairness. We in Massachusetts may often feel that the LGBTQ+ political juggernaut is unstoppable, so this return to reality (the memo talks about “sex” not “gender assigned at birth”) is an encouraging breath of fresh air.
Also getting attention nationally is the anti-religious liberty bill I’ve been telling you about recently. One News Now has an article about it out this afternoon. Thank you to all those who emailed their legislators about it last week. It has yet to be firmly scheduled for a vote in the House, so we are still praying that it will end up, like the Assisted Suicide bills, getting “sent to study.” We will keep raising awareness about it.
Finally, the Secret Abortion bill unfortunately DID pass both houses of the MA legislature. It is currently sitting on Governor Baker’s desk, awaiting his signature. This is our last chance to try to stop it. Please email or call the governor’s office and ask him to veto this attack on parental rights.