Concerned Washington state parents are working to overturn a radical new law that allows the state to harbor runaway children and offer abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
Through the Reject 5599 initiative, parents hope to collect at least 200,000 voters’ signatures on Referendum 101 to overturn the pro-abortion law. The deadline is July 15, and advocates face an uphill battle in the Democrat-controlled state.
But there is hope. The law, which Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee signed in May, drew massive public opposition this spring. The Post Millennial reports nearly 4,700 people signed up to oppose state Senate Bill 5599 during a Senate hearing in February. Parents also organized protests at the state capitol in Olympia, according to CBN.
At the time, state Senate Republican Leader John Braun noted that opposition to the bill did not just come from conservative and pro-life parents and organizations; parents from the LGBTQ community also testified in opposition to it.
Scheduled to go into effect in July, the legislation allows runaway children as young as 13 to stay in state-licensed youth shelters without their parents’ knowledge – even if there are no signs of abuse.
Shelters also must provide taxpayer-funded abortions and sex-change hormones and surgeries to minors staying there without telling their parents. According to the Post Millennial, the bill says shelters do not have to notify parents if the child has a “compelling reason” not to, such as “seeking placement in a host home to receive protected health care services.” These “services” include elective abortions and sex-change surgeries and hormones.
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Organizers with Reject 5599 said the law strips parents of their basic rights and must be repealed. To sign the petition or learn more, visit Reject5599.com.
“Under the law, parents lose the right to be directly notified by the host home as to their child’s whereabouts and the state is involved in deciding whether or not parents can take their own child back home,” organizers said on the website. “Clearly, the parents have no custody rights under this new law.”
The Family Policy Institute of Washington also supports Referendum 101. It warned that the new law “opens the door for countless threats to the safety of minors.”
Along with allowing shelters to harbor runaways, the law also lets children “seek shelter at any stranger’s house and that person would not need to alert police that they were harboring a runaway child,” according to the pro-life organization.
Petition signature sheets are available at the Family Policy Institute offices in Lynnwood. People also may drop off signed petitions at the organization.
If organizers succeed in collecting enough signatures, a measure to repeal the law will be placed on the November ballot for voters to decide.
The Family Policy Institute also highlighted a second initiative, Initiative 2081, by state Rep. Jim Walsh, “which would do many of the things that R-101 would do, plus more. If Initiative 2081 gathers the required signatures, then it will be on the November 2024 ballot and will take effect immediately.”
Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit reports the Washington State Catholic Conference recently drew ire for refusing to take a stance on Referendum 101. According to the conference, the project is “too far behind in collecting signatures and obtaining the needed funding for a successful effort.”
Washington state law allows unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth and forces state taxpayers to pay for elective abortions. In 2020, 16,050 unborn babies were aborted, according to the state health department.
