"More Dead Babies" Act Scheduled for Senate Committee Vote

With the Senate Health Committee's inaction on the bill to shut down pro-life pregnancy centers across the state for two weeks, some in the pro-life community had become hopeful that the bill might be dead. But we have just learned that Sen. Kaiser, the committee chair, has scheduled the bill (SB 5274) for an executive session in the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee on Monday, February 21, at 1:30 P.M.

The hearing, which will be open to the public but not open to public comment, will take place in the Senate Hearing Room #4, J.A. Cherberg Building, Olympia.

Despite the fact that the House version of the bill (HB 1366) got out of their Health Committee virtually unchanged, it's not at all clear that the Democrats -- also known as the political arm of Planned Parenthood -- can get this massively controversial and unconstitutional bill passed on the Senate floor.

The balance of power is 27-22 in the Democrats' favor. Assuming all Republicans hold the line, adding Senator Jim Hargrove, a staunchly pro-life Democrat, and Sen. McAuliffe, who has publicly withdrawn her support, and privately promised opposition, the vote count is a squeaker 25-24.

Theoretically, then, just one more Senator from the Democrats is needed to kill this bill.