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Emergency
Legislative Alert from A Rose and a Prayer
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This
Wednesday, January 13th, at 1:00 PM, in Delaware's General Assembly,
the House Judiciary Committee will hold
hearings on Senate Bill 169, which
makes sidewalk counseling in front of abortion
clinics illegal in Delaware.
The bill is expected to pass
the committee, and could be voted on as early as
Thursday afternoon in the House. The text of the
bill is displayed below.
SB 169 is aimed
specifically at people of faith who prayerfully
witness in front of abortion clinics and offer
help to women in crisis pregnancies. It was
written by the Delaware Attorney General's office
at the request of Planned Parenthood of
Delaware.
The bill makes it illegal to come
within 8 feet of a woman in a crisis pregnancy for
the purpose of "education or counseling" as she
enters the clinic. Under SB 169, even a minister
handing out a brochure about alternatives to
abortion would be breaking the law.
Many
women and children are helped by sidewalk
counselors every year. We must demand that our
legislators preserve our right to help women in
desperate need.
When the Senate passed the
bill last June, sponsors bypassed the requirement
for public comment and held no committee hearing
on the bill. Sponsors tried to do the
same thing in the House, but your phone calls
stopped it last summer.
Your phone calls can
work again. Please call the House
office as soon as possible and ask your legislator
to vote NO on
SB 169.
See the block below
about how to find out who your legislator is.
There's also a block that includes suggestions on
what to say when you call.
If you can go to
Dover on
Wednesday, do so. You must present your picture ID
to be admitted to Legislative Hall. Visit your
legislator's office and tell him or her how you
feel about the bill.
I will send an update
on Wednesday after the committee hearing to let
you know what is likely to happen next. Please
consider clearing time on your schedule to speak
to your representative in person on Thursday
in Dover, should it
be scheduled for a vote that day.
Many
women are helped at the abortion clinic door by
the people who pray and counsel there. Please call
the House as
soon as possible in the next two days
to keep that resource available for women in
crisis pregnancies.
Even if you have never
prayed or counseled at an abortion clinic, and
most of us have not, we must act now to protect
the rights of people of faith who do.
Click
here to forward this
email to your friends. Their names will not be
added to our mailing list unless they sign up
themselves.
Finally, please pray for our
representatives, our state, and the women and
children in Delaware who are
at risk in crisis pregnancies.
I am sending this email
to thousands of Delawareans who support A Rose and
a Prayer. If each of you prays and calls your
legislator as soon as possible, this bill will not
pass.
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What
to Say When You Call--Some
Suggestions
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Ask
your representative to vote NO on SB
169.
Let him or her know that you support
the right of people of faith to speak to women in
crisis pregnancies, to share information about
alternatives to abortion, and to pray for them.
If your representative tells you that
Planned Parenthood is saying that some sidewalk
counselors scare their staff, tell him or her that
Planned Parenthood has the right and
responsibility to protect its workers by getting
injunctions against individuals
to keep them away from the clinic.
If they
haven't done this, it indicates one of two things:
- that
they are more interested in stopping peaceful
witness and sidewalk counseling than protecting
their employees
- OR
that they are exaggerating their
concern.
Tell
your representative that this bill would also
prevent unions from handing out materials in front
of a hospital.
Tell your representative
that you would like to receive a letter explaining
how he or she voted.
Thank them for their
time. |
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How
to Find Your Representative
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To
find out who your representative is, click
here
and enter your zip+4 zipcode. Scroll down to the
State Legislative section, and identify your
Representative.
Then
go to the list below to find his or her home phone
number.
Our representatives
tell us that calls to them at home are most
effective and are expected.
Use
the home phone number so you can speak directly to
your legislator this evening or Wednesday evening.
Some representatives are also at home in the
mornings before 11, as the session starts in the
afternoon.
When
you call your representative at home, be
courteous. Do not call to early in the morning or
after 9:00
PM.
The
office number is also listed, but you will most
likely speak only to your representative's staff
if you call during the day. This is still worth
doing if you can't reach them in
person.
If
you can't find out who your representative is,
call the House Democratic Caucus's office at (302)
577-8476 or the Republican Caucus at (302)
577-8723.
House of
Representatives Contact
Information
Dist
Party/Name
Home # Office #
E-mail
Address
1
(D) Dennis P. Williams
764-1812
577-8476
Dennis.Williams@state.de.us
2
(D) Hazel D.
Plant
764-4180
577-8476
Hazel.Plant@state.de.us
3
(D) Helene M. Keeley
655-7071
577-8476
Helene.Keeley@state.de.us
4
(D) Gerald L.
Brady
655-1373
577-8476
Gerald.Brady@state.de.us
5
(D) Melanie G. Marshall
832-1956
577-8474
Melanie.Marshall@state.de.us
6
(R) Thomas H. Kovach
764-7803
744-4174
Thomas.Kovach@state.de.us
7
(D) Bryon H.
Short
475-2252
744-4351
Bryon.Short@state.de.us
8
(D) S. Quinton Johnson
378-2681
577-8476
Quinton.Johnson@state.de.us
9
(R) Richard C. Cathcart
378-7104
577-8723
Richard.Cathcart@state.de.us
10
(D) Dennis E. Williams
373-0115
577-8476
Dennis.E.Williams@state.de.us
11
(R) Gregory F.
Lavelle
478-6128
577-8475
Greg.Lavelle@state.de.us
12
(R) Deborah D. Hudson
651-9571
577-8723
Deborah.Hudson@state.de.us
13
(D) John L. Mitchell, Jr.
995-1803
577-8473
John.
L.
Mitchell@state.de.us
14
(D) Peter Schwartzkopf
227-6252
744-4351
Peter.Schwartzkopf@state.de.us
15
(D) Valerie J. Longhurst
836-3717
577-8476
Valerie.Longhurst@state.de.us
16
(D) James Johnson
322-3521
577-8476
Jj.Johnson@state.de.us
17
(D) Michael Mulrooney
322-1249
577-8476
Michael.Mulrooney@state.de.us
18
(D) Michael A. Barbieri
420-6564
577-8476
Michael.Barbieri@state.de.us
19
(D) Robert F.
Gilligan
999-8722
577-8476
Robert.Gilligan@state.de.us
20
(R) Nick T. Manolakos
239-3943
577-8723
Nick.T.Manolakos@state.de.us
21
(R) Michael
Ramone
737-7529
577-8723
Michael.Ramone@state.de.us
22
(R) Joseph E.
Miro
454-1840
577-8723
Joseph.Miro@state.de.us
23
(D) Teresa Schooley
454-8322
577-8342
Terry.Schooley@state.de.us
24
(R) William Oberle, Jr.
738-6241
577-8475
William.Oberle@state.de.us
25
(D) John Kowalko, Jr.
737-2396
577-8342
John.Kowalko@state.de.us
26
(D) John J.
Viola
832-2209
577-8476
John.Viola@state.de.us
27
(D) Earl G. Jaques, Jr.
834-9231
577-8476
Earl.Jaques@state.de.us
28
(D) William Carson, Jr.
653-8642
744-4351
William.Carson@state.de.us
29
(R) Pamela Thornburg
736-5121
744-4175
Pam.Thornburg@state.de.us
30
(R) William R. Outten
398-3816
744-4083
Bobby.Outten@state.de.us
31
(D) Darryl M.
Scott
747-7765
744-4351
Darryl.Scott@state.de.us
32
(D) Bradford Bennett
697-8110
744-4253
Bradford.Bennett@state.de.us
33
(D) Robert E.
Walls
424-2261
744-4351
Robert.Walls@state.de.us
34
(R) Donald A. Blakey
697-6723
744-4103
Donald.Blakey@state.de.us
35
(R) David L.
Wilson
422-9270
744-4150
David.L.Wilson@state.de.us
36
(R) V. George
Carey
684-8358
744-4119
George.Carey@state.de.us
37
(R) Ruth Briggs King
856-2772
744-4251
38
(R) Gerald W. Hocker
539-4140
744-4171
Gerald.Hocker@state.de.us
39
(R) Daniel B. Short*
629-6525
744-4172
Daniel.Short@state.de.us
40
(R) Clifford "Biff" Lee
875-5119
744-4034
Biff.Lee@state.de.us
41
(D) John C.
Atkins
934-1587
744-4351
John.Atkins@state.de.us
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Complete
Text Senate Bill
169
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SPONSORS:
Sen.
Ennis & Rep.
Keeley
Sens.
Blevins
Bushweller
Hall-Long
Henry
Katz
McDowell
Peterson
Sokola
Connor
Sorenson
Reps.
D.P.
Williams
Barbieri
Hudson
Kowalko
M.
Marshall
Mitchell
Schooley
Schwartzkopf
Viola
DELAWARE
STATE
SENATE
145th GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
SENATE BILL NO.
169
AN
ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE
RELATING TO OBSTRUCTION OF INGRESS AND EGRESS TO
HEALTH CARE
FACILITIES.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF
DELAWARE:
Section
1. Amend Chapter 5 of Title 11
of the Delaware Code by adding a new Section 1324A
thereto to read as
follows
"§1324 A. Obstructing Ingress to or Egress
from a Health Care
Facility.
A
person is guilty of obstructing ingress to or
egress from a health care facility when the
person:
1) knowingly obstructs, detains, hinders, impedes,
or blocks another person's entry to or exit from a
health care facility;
or
(2)
knowingly approaches another person, within eight
feet of the person, unless such person consents,
for the purpose of protest, education or
counseling of such other person in the public way
or area within a radius of one hundred feet from
the exterior perimeter of the health care
facility.
Obstructing
ingress to or egress from a health care facility
is a Class B
misdemeanor."
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