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So here\u2019s the thing. It seems that today is the WA abortion lobby\u2019s big day to descend on Olympia and flex their muscle. Their entire focus is the mandatory insurance bill. It is expected to be voted on in the House this Wednesday. If it succeeds there, which most observers expect but I refuse to take as a given, they will claim victory and try to use that to bully the Senate into cooperating. While I believe we are 5 votes short in the House and we should not give up, there\u2019s little doubt that our strongest position is the Senate.<\/p>\n

The idea right now is for pro-lifers to make a very strong showing this Wednesday February 20 in the House Gallery<\/strong> (wearing white ribbons to identify ourselves). The idea is, even if we lose in the House, to send a very strong message to the Senate<\/strong> that we are watching, we care, and we want this bill to die (in the Senate). Apparently last year we had no-one in the House Gallery when it was voted on. That sent a message, the wrong message.<\/p>\n

We also want to visit Senators\u2019 offices. Let me be clear about this: true meetings with legislators require planning and appointments. The idea here is not to arrange last-minute sit-downs, though that is definitely encouraged, but rather to do drop-ins where you tell the office manager or whomever greets you that you are there to register your opposition to the Abortion Insurance Mandate bill. Anyone can do this without have a speech prepared.<\/p>\n

Personally I\u2019d like to see 1,000 of us make this. Now obviously we are all over the state and there would be travel involved. It would be great to find 1,000 folks who are within driving distance of Olympia to do this. We realize this is short notice. There are only about 200 seats in the gallery itself, and the other side will be trying to do the same thing. There will be another activity organized for folks who don\u2019t make it into the gallery where you can meet with a legislator on our side and network with other activists and pro-life lobbyists.<\/p>\n

I have created an online signup form<\/span><\/strong> so we can get a clear sense of how many of us are planning to make it. Please forward this signup to your contacts and encourage them to use it. We want to do this as a group, not as individuals. Solidarity and all that. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n