Reproductive Health and Rights Lobby Day

citizens from across the state came to Olympia yesterday to ask our legislators to maintain our $10 million dollar budget for state family planning. a 10% cut ($1 million) for Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood would cut $634,600. 300 patients would lose services.

read about it and participate with a message to your legislators here:

It's Virtual Lobby Day 2009!
On Monday, February 23, hundreds of people from across Washington State will travel to Olympia for Reproductive Health & Rights Lobby Day.
They will be fighting for funding for family planning, fighting to reinstate the CSO family planning nurse program, and fighting for common sense sex education programs that work. And you can too. It's easy, it's fast, and it's free. It's Virtual Lobby Day!
There are two ways to participate:
1. Phone it in. The best way to make sure that your legislator gets the message is to make a phone call. It's simple- just call the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and the operator will help you find your legislators. Then deliver this simple message: "Family planning saves money, and Washington can't afford to cut it. Please retain $10 million for family planning services in the operating budget."
2. Send a message. With just a click of your mouse, you can add your voice to the hundreds of others in Olympia right now and urge your legislators to fund family planning services in the budget. Add your personal story to make it really count!

we also asked them to pass Proven Programs Act: HB1612 and SB 5629 which would have our state only apply for funding for proven sexual education programs.

currently Washington State Dept of Health is required by law to apply for Title V abstinence-only -until -marriage funding. we can't use these funds since the Healthy Youth Act (2007) requires schools, who choose to teach sex education, to teach comprehensive, medically accurate sex education. (this does include abstinence-only-until-marriage as one option)

we should not be using precious resources applying for funds we can't even use. this is a no brainer!

what fun day we had!! Rep. Doug Ericksen and Rep. Kelli Linville met with us....thanks to both! part of our group was able to meet with Sen. Dale Brandland's assistant. thank you!

hopefully our legislature will see the wisdom in spending $1 now to save $4 in costs for unintended pregnancy we will start seeing immediately if services are reduced.

thanks to Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington for making this great day happen. here are a few photos.....(sorry about the quality of some of the "no flash" interior ones)