In the 1st Barnstable District, we have the opportunity to elect a candidate who fully supports women’s rights and the legislation we have been advocating for during this legislative session.

Josh Mason is fully committed to supporting women’s reproductive rights and the legislation we have been advocating on Beacon Hill. Cape Cod Women for Change endorses his candidacy.

“Our community deserves leadership that will never put the lives, health, and safety of women & transgender individuals in danger…”

Josh Mason, Candidate for 1st Barnstable District State Representative

On the ROE Act

Josh Mason fully supports the ROE Act which will protect women’s reproductive rights in MA should the US Supreme Court chip away at, or overturn ROE v. Wade. Josh responded to our questionnaire with full support:

Let me make something abundantly clear: health care is a human right. Every day in this country, bodily autonomy and abortion care is under attack. I am 100% committed to supporting the ROE Act if I am elected as State Representative, and to fight for critical health care issues on Beacon Hill. Our community deserves leadership that will never put the lives, health, and safety of women & transgender individuals in danger. I am committed to listening and working with the amazing health care activists working on the ground, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, The Red Cloaks, and with all of those affected by injustice. We can ensure that Cape Cod is a safe haven for all, and that our health care system is equitable and just. I will never back down from any legislative imposition on bodily autonomy, reproductive rights or health care access. I have made my position clear: I support the ROE Act and the protection of the right to bodily autonomy in all forms, full stop. I am running to ensure that these cruel and senseless attacks stop at the front door of the State House.

On the Act to End Child Marriage

The Act to End Child Marriage, is a bill that would establish a minimum age for marriage in Massachusetts. Currently, MA is one of only a few states where, with a parent’s permission, a child of any age can marry. Marrying young deprives young women of reaching their full potential and often means a girl is marrying an older man.

During this legislative session, the Senate passed this bill, but the house has yet to vote on it and may try to kill it in committee. Josh supports this bill:

I support establishing a minimum age to marry. Ending child marriage is absolutely the right thing to do. Young women deserve to live complete childhoods, get an education, and to be free from the potential violence and detrimental mental health consequences associated with child marriage. Child marriage also fosters elements of poverty, compromised health, illiteracy, and potential violence that hinders overall development.

On the Healthy Youth Act

The Healthy Youth Act would establish a standard and inclusive sexual education curriculum for schools who have decided to offer sexual education, it ensures districts that offer sex education teach age-appropriate, medically accurate information, including teaching consent, the benefits of delaying sex, how to build healthy relationships, and how to prevent pregnancy and STDs when people do have sex. It would require the curricula used to be LGBT-inclusive and would continue to allow parents and guardians to take their children out of school-based sex education. The Healthy Youth Act has been filed many times and at this point remains in committee.

Josh understands the need for the Healthy Youth Act:

Our students deserve sex and health education that will keep them safe — all of them. That means teaching students about what a healthy relationship looks like and providing them with the tools to make smart decisions about their health. I am fully in support of a diverse health curriculum. Without one, we are telling students that they don’t need to know how to get help to leave abusive relationships; telling LGBTQIA+ students that their needs do not matter; telling victims that their stories and fears don’t deserve addressing; telling our children that we do not care about their health. It’s 2020: that’s not acceptable anymore.

 

Josh’s opponent has refused to sign on to sponsor the ROE Act nor support it. As we face the possibility of SCOTUS either chipping away at the rights protected by Roe v. Wade or overturning it altogether, the ROE Act offers protections not in place at the state level. Josh’s opponent did not sign on to sponsor the Child Marriage Act or the Healthy Youth Act.

Cape Cod needs Josh Mason as the Representative of the 1st Barnstable District.

We recently consulted with leaders from our national group and learned that we can endorse state candidates if we follow protocol. All candidates were offered a questionnaire, have responded to our requests to support legislation and, or have actually met with our leadership.