What a Week | Center for Arizona Policy

What a Week

Hate . . . truth . . . freedom . . . parental rights . . . all hot topics at the Capitol this week!

Click on the image below to watch this week’s update:

Hate? Not even close. The Secular Coalition of Arizona joined the attack against our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom, falsely alleging that they are a “hate group” simply because a radical leftist group said so. The Coalition’s Monday press conference attacking the state specialty plates “In God We Trust” because proceeds from the plates go to our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom. Read my response here, “Secular Coalition’s censorious sledgehammer smashes free speech.”

Planned Parenthood endorsed candidate Raquel Teran led a team of 17 legislators to file a New York-style bill to leave babies surviving an abortion to die. HB 2696 titled “fetal resuscitation; repeal” strikes current law requiring all medical means be used to give the baby a chance at life. You may recall our fight two years ago to update Arizona’s born alive infant protection law to ensure these babies are given appropriate medical care. You’ve heard me saying over and over again, AZ is not that far from turning into NY. One or two votes changing in the Arizona legislature and HB 2696 passes.

Senate Education Committee passed CAP-support SB 1069 (Sen. Boyer) to further free speech on college campuses. The bill clarifies that the purpose of the campus free speech statute (ARS 15-1864) is to protect student free speech, not restrict it.

Senate Education Committee spent over three hours hearing a simple bill (SB 1395 by Sen. Sylvia Allen) to make needed revisions to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. Once again, we saw attacks on parental rights and religious schools. Opponents spun yet another false narrative that the bill expands the ESA program when it does not. CAP’s Michael Clark wrapped up the testimony to point out the real problems needing to be solved by SB 1395. Thankfully, the bill passed 6-4.

In another state, three-month-old baby Simon passes away. A Do-Not-Resuscitate order was placed on Simon’s medical record without his parent’s knowledge. Making sure this can’t happen in Arizona, the House Health and Human Services Committee passed CAP-supported HB 2122 (Rep. Nancy Barto).

2019 CAP Family Dinner with special guest, Ben Shapiro on Tuesday, April 9.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is leading a coalition of 21 states, including Arizona, in a Supreme Court amicus brief supporting Alabama legislation that prohibits the dismemberment of living, unborn children during abortions.
Albert Mohler discusses the immediate impact of the extreme abortion law recently passed in New York: a Queens district attorney dropped an abortion charge against a man who the police say fatally stabbed his former girlfriend when she was 14 weeks pregnant. He will be prosecuted for killing his girlfriend but not for killing the baby.

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