Information Alert: End of Week Update (Virginia General Assembly)

The Family Foundation ^ | Friday, February 10, 2006 | Victoria Cobb, Executive Director

[Perseverando]

Another hectic week in the General Assembly is completed, and several important pro-family pieces of legislation are moving through the process. These bills will now move onto the Senate side as crossover approaches next week. At some point during the Senate debate we will need concerned citizens to contact their Senators to express support for the following bills. Stay tuned for further details.

Student Survey Bill
Delegate Tim Hugo's (R-40, Centreville) HB 1242 passed the House of Delegates this week by a vote of 93-4. This is legislation that will forbid school boards from surveying school children under 9th grade on sexual behavior and require that parents give their consent for high school students. Young students in elementary and middle school are often surveyed on personal information concerning their sexual activity. Often, parents are unaware that their children are asked these intrusive questions. Sometimes, these questionnaires are actually introducing school children to sexual concepts they have never learned before or have not been discussed with parents. This legislation is a priority for The Family Foundation this year.

Clinic Safety Bill
Delegate Bob Marshall's (R-13, Manassas) HB 189 passed the House of Delegates this week by a vote of 66-33. This bill would require that abortion clinics in Virginia be regulated as ambulatory surgery centers. Currently, clinics are viewed as doctor's offices and are generally unregulated. This legislation had passed the House of Delegates several years in a row, only to be defeated in the Senate Ed and Health committee.

Clinic Reporting Bill
Delegate Bill Janis' (R-56, Glen Allen) HB 1274 passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 64-34 this afternoon. The legislation would require that doctors in Virginia report to the Department of Health incidents of medical complications they believed occurred as a result of an elective abortion. Currently there is no way to know what is happening in Virginia's abortion clinics because there are no required inspections and there are no reporting requirements.

Each of the above bills will be assigned to the Senate Education and Health Committee.

De-funding Planned Parenthood Budget Amendments
Delegate Ben Cline (R-24, Amherst) and Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13, Manassas) have amendments (4-5.04 #6, 4-5.04#2) to the state budget that would eliminate any appropriation of funds to a non-state agency or organization that perform abortion services or abortion counseling services, such as Planned Parenthood. We expect this amendment to come up in the coming days in the House Appropriation Committee. Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg) has a similar amendment in the Senate (4-5.05#1).

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
The Family Foundation desperately needs volunteers to help add thousands of new names to our database. As our local chapters and grassroots organization grow we continue to have Virginians join our cause, and we need to add them to our databases to keep them informed. Next Thursday, February 16, from 5:00-9:00 p.m. The Family Foundation will have a Volunteer Night to help with this need. If you can attend, please contact Bob Lawrence at 804-343-0010! Free pizza and drinks will be provided!

[Perseverando]

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Let 'em know what you think, Freepers!

[Gopher Broke]

Thanks for posting this....these guys at FF do great work!