Tell the Judiciary Committee you support sexual health.

Dear Representative Brownsberger,

I am writing to ask you to contact the Judiciary Committee
before their hearing on July 14th to express your support for
two bills that protect sexual health services and opposition to
two bills which are hostile to these services.

The two positive 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repealed to reflect the Commonwealth’s commitment to protecting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.

The two negative bills are:

3) House Bill 1670, the so-called “Woman’s Right to Know” biased
counseling bill. Massachusetts already has an effective informed
consent law which provides patients with all of the information
they need. The sole purpose of this bill is to restrict access
to abortion and cause unnecessary delays for women seeking
reproductive health care services.

4) House Bill 3840, which would repeal the state’s Buffer Zone
Law. This law, which was just passed last session, has been an
effective tool for balancing freedom of speech and freedom from
harassment. Recent events have shown that the Buffer Zone Law is
needed now more than ever.

Again I ask that you express your support for the first two
bills and opposition to the second two bills to the Judiciary
Committee before their hearing on the 14th.

As your constituent, I look forward to receiving your response.