Friday is the deadline for bills filed in the MA legislature for this session (2019-2020), to be sponsored. Sponsoring a bill is the first sign of support we seek from our State Senators and Representatives. The more sponsors a bill has, the better it will do on the road to becoming a law.

Please call or email your State Rep and State Senator, the ask is simple: will you sign on  as a sponsor for these bills?  You can find your State Senator and State Rep here, Cape Cod residents here. Ask her/him to respond to you, tell them you would like to know if they will sponsor these bills and share any results with us here in comments or by email CapeCodWomenforChange@gmail.com.

Ask for sponsorship, either for this entire list of bills, or for the bill(s) important to you.

We will share more details about the bills we support in the coming weeks. But because we are facing a deadline this is a summary of our first list of priority bills, their docket numbers (they will get bill numbers as they are assigned to committees)  and links to more info from organizations that support them.

Please ask you state legislators to support these bills, more details about each are below:

• The Roe Act SD. 109
• The Safe Communities Act HD.1520 and SD.926
• Child Marriage Act HD583/SD343
• Healthy Youth Act SD.579

Please note – some of these links take you to forms that will auto email your legislators – it is MUCH MORE effective for you to send a direct email from your email address

• The Roe Act SD. 109:   This bill will clear obstacles for access to safe and legal abortions. We feel very strongly about this bill and support it with enthusiasm. Threats at the Federal level to Roe V. Wade will make it more difficult for women to access abortion care, legally.    The ROE Act eliminates the onerous requirement that forces teens to obtain permission from a parent or judge to access abortion, expands access to abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases of fatal fetal anomalies, establishes safety net coverage for abortion for people excluded from MassHealth and reforms outdated state laws by removing medically inaccurate language, abolishing medically unnecessary abortion restrictions like an unenforced 24-hour waiting period, and codifying the principles of reproductive freedom into state law.  More information here. Download a single page fact-sheet here.

• The Safe Communities Act HD.1520 and SD.926: No questions about immigration status: Many immigrants fear that calling 911 or speaking to police will lead to separation from family members – especially children –making them more vulnerable to domestic abuse, wage theft and other crimes. This provision would send a strong message that in our Commonwealth, police protect us all. Provides due process protections,  without these protections, people often make statements or sign documents jeopardizing their immigration cases. Non-citizens often unaware of these rights, because “Miranda” warnings are not required in the civil immigration context.  It bars police, court officers and jail officials from notifying ICE that someone is about to be released. This would help ensure that immigration status isn’t used as an excuse to keep people behind bars when they’re entitled to go free. ICE may still be notified if a person is being released after serving a criminal sentence. More information about this bill here, and a downloadable fact sheet here.

• An Act to End Child Marriage HD583/SD343: This bill would make 18 years old the minimum age to marry in MA.  Nearly 1,231 children as young as 14 were married in Massachusetts between 2000 and 2016 – and 83.7 percent (1,030) of them were girls wed to adult men. For example, a 14-year-old girl married a 23-year-old man in 2003. The oldest person during this time period to marry a minor was a 39-year-old man who married a 17-year-old girl in 2014.  A script and information to use when asking legislators to sign on to sponsor this bill here, a fact sheet about the bill here.

• The Healthy Youth Act SD.579: would ensure comprehensive curricula are taught in public schools that choose to offer sex education, helping young people learn the benefits of delaying sex, as well as how to prevent STIs and pregnancy when they become sexually active. But comprehensive sex education is about more than just sex – it helps creates a culture of consent, recognizes and prioritizes LGBTQ youth health needs, and gives young people the tools to build healthy relationships. And unlike its alternatives, comprehensive sex education curricula are proven to help young people lead healthy lives. The bill is posted here, and a downloadable fact sheet here.

 

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(If you see errors or omissions please contact CapeCodWomenforChange@gmail.com)

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