Summer 2016 King County Voter Information

Please see our website http://ststephenslife.com/legislative-advocacy and scroll down to LINKS for easy links to valuable information for all King County voters from King County and for Faithful Catholic Voters from the U.S. Catholic Bishops.

Fortnight for Freedom Novena Prayer

Please pray with us daily June 21 - July 4th and join us at St. Stephen for 8:30 AM Mass July 4th and/or anytime for prayer in the chapel during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 9AM until 4pm July 4th.

O GOD OUR CREATOR, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.  Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Monday, November 9, 2015, Meeting

Our Monday, November 9th, meeting will begin preparations for January 19, 2016, meetings of bus passengers with their legislators while in Olympia for the annual March for Life.  Join us in SSTM's office Conference Room at 7:15pm (following 6:30pm Mass in the chapel).  All are welcome!

At the urging of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, we will be sponsoring our 3rd annual "Fortnight for Freedom" events at St. Stephens parish between June 20th through July 4th 2015 to pray, fast, and act on behalf of our First Amendment guarantees to freedom of religion -- or as the bishops are calling this year's theme "The Freedom to Bear Witness" to the truth of the Gospel. A meeting to finalize plans will be held on Monday evening, June 8th at 7:15pm in the Parish office conference room; all are invited.

Legislation in Olympia to track this week (February 9th, 2015)

Abortion Insurance Mandate hearing set for Feb 10th

1) A bill that would force every private insurance policy to cover abortion, sterilization, and controversial contraceptives (HB 1647) has been scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday, February 10th, at 8 am in the House Health Care Committee. This bill essentially makes it illegal to buy or sell a private insurance policy that doesn’t cover abortion.

Many people oppose abortion generally. Many more do not want to pay for someone else’s abortion regardless of how they feel about the right to have one. But this bill ignores the strong differences of opinion on this divisive issue and forces everyone to become a financial partner with the abortion industry. This bill is primarily about forcing employers to pay for their employees’ abortions.

If you can't make it, call your legislators through the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or email them to share your thoughts.  Please “oppose” this bill.

2) State legislators have introduced HB 1502 which would require every Washington state employer to pay for objectionable forms of contraception, even if they are willing to provide other forms of contraception.  This bill is before the House Judiciary committee.  Please call your state rep to “oppose” this bill.

3) Meanwhile, another bill (HB 1687) has been introduced in the state House declaring that the right to life begins at the moment the individual comes into being.  Please call your state rep to “support” this bill.

4) Senate bill SB5289 Parental Notification for Abortions would require notification of parents or guardians before a minor could have an abortion.  Please contact your state senator to “support” passage of this bill.

EWTN, the Apostolate for Family Consecration (AFC), and Catholics for the Common Good Institute (CCGI) have partnered to produce a six part mini-series, “Evangelizing the Culture for Marriage and Family” that begins on Monday, January 12 at 3:30pm PST and runs each weekday through the following Monday. It features Rev. Kevin Barrett, Chaplain for the AFC, interviewing Bill May, President of CCGI and Margot Kyd, Chairwoman of the Board of CCGI.

The truth about marriage has become so hidden that confusion about it is causing fewer and fewer people to seek marriage as the foundation of their own families. The unfortunate result is also seen in court decisions and in our culture with the legal redefinition of marriage. To see a promotional video and details about the series go to http://ccgaction.org/marriage/EWTN-EvangelizingtheCulture.

Also, the 2015 Washington State legislative session begins on Monday, January 15^th.  Here is a look at a few of the issues we think could be debated in the legislature in the upcoming session.

Abortion Insurance Mandate: Senate Bill 5026 would require every private insurance company in Washington State to cover abortion. Every insurer already offers abortion, but under current law individuals and companies are free to purchase insurance that does not cover it if they prefer. This bill has been defeated in the Senate for the last three years.

Forcing Religious Hospitals to Perform Abortions: The abortion industry is increasingly concerned with the fact that Catholic hospitals are merging with public hospitals because Catholic hospitals are unwilling to perform abortions. Groups supportive of the abortion industry held a number of community events around the state over the summer and circulated a petition in support of legislation that would require religious hospitals to perform abortions in violation of their beliefs. We are not yet aware of specific legislation to address this issue, but it is very possible in this session.

Payment for Webcam Abortions: This bill would facilitate payments from state sources for telemedicine, or medical consultations done remotely via computer.  The abortion industry wants to be able to charge the state for prescribing chemical abortions remotely. They have used a similar strategy to increase their revenues in other states because it allows fewer medical staff to prescribe more abortions. Encouraging abortion providers to prescribe abortions remotely is especially problematic in Washington state where there is no requirement that parents know about a minor's abortion. As a result, encouraging remote chemical abortions would create a situation in which minors are getting an abortion without their parent's awareness and without any medical professionals nearby. In light of the fact that chemical abortions have been known to kill women and often cause severe abdominal pain and bleeding, this would be a dangerous situation for the girls involved.

There will undoubtedly be other issues to deal with as well and we will keep you informed of all the developments affecting marriage, life, religious freedom, and parental rights.

You are encouraged to contact your legislators through the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 anytime you have a thoughts to share or questions to ask.

The June 24th Fortnight event featured mass and a special patriotic rosary, followed by a fabulous Mexican dinner, and then our guest speakers from Vocare -- Anne Marie Kelly & John Geis who spoke about the challenges we face protecting our religious liberties and the need for Catholics to "engage in the public square" as our Holy Father and the U.S. Catholic bishops are encouraging us all to do.