Monadnock for Choice is a grassroots organization formed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly three years ago. During that time, the federal and our state government have been laser focused on restricting as many rights for women as they can.
We won’t go back!
On Thurs., May 22nd, SB 72 comes before the House for a vote. It is sponsored by all 16 Republican Senators and two Republican Representatives, half of whom are members of either Liberty Alliance and/or Free State. The bill is recommended to pass with an amendment which is problematic.
The amendment will require school staff to respond to “any and all” parental inquiries, regardless of appropriateness and monitoring students’ romantic and personal relationships. It places penalties on teachers who are in a school to teach, not spy and report. It places penalties on medical providers, requiring written permission before a child can be treated. Parents currently can give verbal consent for routine services like prescription refills and telehealth appointments, this bill ends that practice. Additionally, the amended bill strips the rights of teenagers to access birth control or receive pre- and postnatal care without written parental permission. The proposed bill has no allowances for circumstances where the Div. of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is involved with a family and does not align with other existing federal and state laws governing medical care and records. It places a new burden of evidence on educators and physicians before they can even call DCYF which conflicts with other statutes and the laws in all other states. The on line opposition to this bill was more than 450 compared to only 20 who were in support.
To contact your Representative click here, under “ROSTER” scroll down and click on your representative’s name. Send a brief email expressing your opposition to this bill which is aimed at inserting more of government in schools and the privacy of family and their physicians.
HB 10 establishes a “parental bill of rights, a framework for notice of, and to report violations of, such rights, and consequences for affirmative findings of violations.” First of all, parents already HAVE the rights listed in this bill when it comes to their own children. This is intended to inflict fear onto medical professionals and educators, while restricting their ability to do their jobs. This bill is sponsored by Liberty Alliance members and is still in the Senate. The House will be getting this bill in a few weeks. In the meantime, to contact your Senator click here for his/her email address and let them know you oppose this proposed government overreach legislation.
My colleague Rep. Jim Gruber shared this and I, in turn, will share with you: “Speak the truth and defend the vulnerable.”
Thank you, Jim. And thanks to all of you for your continued activism!