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2009 Virtual Lobby Day Today!
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, along with the other member organizations of the Massachusetts Coalition for Choice, is celebrating National Women’s Health Week with today’s 2009 Pro-Choice Virtual Lobby Day!
Please take a moment to ask your state senator and state representative to support our priority bills this session which are, “An Act Relative to Updating the Public Health Laws,” “An Act Relative to Consent and Counseling for Certain Minors, ” and “An Act Relative to Providing Health Education in Schools.”
If you would rather call your legislators, the State House Switchboard number is 617-722-2000. If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can find them here.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Support These Sexual Health Bills
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am writing to you in support of today's "2009 Pro-Choice Virtual Lobby Day" to ask you to publicly endorse three bills which promote sexual and reproductive health. These bills would protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, and they will improve the ability of citizens across the Commonwealth to make informed decisions to help them lead healthy lives.
The three bills are:
1) An Act Relative to Updating the Public Health Laws (Senate Bill 1610, House Bill 1745, Lead Sponsors: Senator Harriette Chandler and Representative Ellen Story) This bill would repeal three archaic and unconstitutional laws that could harm women's health if they were ever reinstated. The three laws are: a complete abortion ban, a requirement that all abortions done after the first trimester be done in a hospital, and a law prohibiting the sale of contraception to single people. These laws were written for a different era, and they should be repealed to reflect the Commonwealth's commitment to protecting access to health care.
2) An Act Relative to Consent and Counseling for Certain Minors (House Bill 1746, Lead Sponsor: Representative Ellen Story) This bill would expand the counseling and consent criteria for minors seeking abortions. This bill will help protect young women who need timely access to medical care by having the law reflect family structures across the Commonwealth, and it would also allow licensed medical professionals to give counseling instead of forcing a young woman to go through an impersonal and costly court process.
3) An Act Relative to Providing Health Education in Schools (Senate Bill 218, House Bill 3434, Lead Sponsors: Senator Harriette Chandler and Representative Alice Wolf) This bill would explicitly state that comprehensive health education (as defined by the Department of Education's Health Education Curriculum Framework) is a core subject for Massachusetts public schools. It would also create a process for identifying the current gaps in health education across Massachusetts today.
A student's access to health education should not be an accident of geography. Health education enables students to make informed decisions to lead healthy lives, and that has tremendous benefits in both the short and long-term for the Commonwealth.
These three bills are incredibly important to the health of citizens across Massachusetts. I ask you to contact the lead sponsors of these bills to express your public support if you have not done so already.
As your constituent, I look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
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