PoV
March 16, 2021
VOTE YES!
The Woman’s Right to Know Act will be heard in committee in the House THIS WEDNESDAY, March 17! We need everyone who sees this email to take action. Please.We’ve made it super easy in 1 click.
Take Action
* When you Take Action, your one email will be sent to the members of the Health and Human Development committee, as well as your State Representative. View the hearing for HB 40 by clicking on “Live Proceedings” to the right of the home page. Choose the committee name, Health and Human Development, and you will be taken to the page with the meeting link. Click on the meeting link to put in your name, email, and address to receive an email with the Zoom link to view.
To see which hearings are coming up and when, check the Legislative Calendar or the Senate and House agendas. Here’s the Recap:
(REMINDER: The highlighted bills on the ‘watch list’ below are specific to DFPC’s focus, expertise, and interests. To view the actual bill language or see the sponsors, the bill title is linked for your convenience. Green means we support the bill; red means we oppose it. IMPORTANT: if you click on a bill that you support, take a minute to thank the legislators who are sponsoring it.)
Life
This bill is on the calendar to be heard in committee THIS WEDNESDAY, March 17th at 10am! Again, listen in HERE! SUPPORT! TAKE ACTION! The Woman’s Right to Know Act would mandate that a woman needs to be offered the option to see her ultrasound image prior to the abortion.
In any other medical procedure — even removing a tooth — a patient is shown the image of what’s going on and what’s being removed. In the abortion procedure the woman is deliberately kept in the dark, and sometimes lied to about the development of her baby.
This Act simply requires an abortion provider to offer a patient the option of seeing her ultrasound prior to the abortion procedure. That’s it.
Women can still refuse to view it if they choose. This does not remove a woman’s choice, it simply allows them to make an informed choice.
Will you stand with the women who have experienced the lie of abortion, who are speaking out in this hearing? They need thousands of us behind them.
TAKE ACTION
This bill was heard last week and unfortunately passed in committee. The next step is for it to be placed on the calendar to be heard on the House Floor. You can view the Floor Schedule on the House Agenda. This bill ensures that women can self-administer drugs and endure chemical abortions without any form of physical oversight, which puts the lives of women at an even greater risk of harm.
Though the bill passed, Representatives Briggs-King, Postles, and Collins all refused to vote for it 🙌 🙌 🙌. Representative Ruth Briggs-King also gave great push back in questions to the sponsor of this bill, though her questions were left unanswered. Please take the time to thank them!
Religious Freedom
This bill will be heard in committee this Wednesday at 11:30 am. It is an act to prohibit discrimination of the individual based on his or her religious observance and practice, as well as beliefs. The language sounds solid, but ironically, the bill sponsors all represent a political platform that seeks to elevate sexual freedom and abortion as rights higher than the right of conscience or religious liberty. We are actively watching this bill and preparing to act if necessary.
Do not be upset if your typically conservative legislator supports this bill but does not sign as a sponsor for this bill. They may very well be watching intently to see where this is going.🤔🧐
*If one or both of your legislators are mentioned on the bill as a sponsor, this presents the perfect opportunity to connect with them personally via email or text to ask them about this legislation. Find out what may be driving them to sponsor this bill and ask how you can pray for them.
Education
HB 92 was the original bill that changed the term limits for school board members. The current term is 5 years and this bill would reduce it to 4 years. It is labeled “HS 1” because it is the House Substitute for the original bill. The substitute bill clarifies what part of Delaware Code is being changed. It has passed the committee and is on the House Ready List waiting to be heard on the Floor.
The House Ready List is the list of all bills that passed in committee. The Speaker of the House, Representative Pete Schwartzkopf, will then decide when they will be heard on the Floor.
Voter Integrity
This bill would automatically register adults of voting age at the time that they receive a valid Driver’s License. If an individual applies for a state Driver’s License and produces documentation to prove their US citizenship, they will be referred to the Department of Elections as a valid candidate for registration. The Department of Elections will then register them as unaffiliated and reach out to have them select a party, if they choose to do so.
Delaware is a “Closed” state, which means that only those who are registered as Republicans or Democrats may vote in the primary election. It will be crucial for those who desire to vote in the primary to either register to vote prior to obtaining their Driver’s License or to follow up to solidify their party registration.
Gun Control
Most gun control bills seek to limit the type of firearms that can be owned by citizens. This bill is no different. It would not only limit, but criminalize, the ability to own certain firearms — those made with a 3D printer, those without a serial number if made after 1968, or an unfinished firearm frame.
What’s Next …
Please take action on The Woman’s Right to Know Act. Remember that the hearing is THIS WEDNESDAY at 10am in the House committee. If you are a member of DFPC then we look forward to connecting with you at our March 25th meeting. If you’re not a member and would like to support this work in Delaware, please Join Us!
If this summary is helpful, drop us an email or text to let us know. Please remember to pray that hearts and minds will be moved, changed, and that truth will be heard beyond all the deception. 👏🏾
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Nandi Randolph
Policy Analyst
Delaware Family Policy Council
P.S. If you missed the previous legislative update, HERE is the link to review it.
Save the Date: April 8th for DFPC’s annual Summit! Details coming this week.
To learn more about Delaware Family Policy Council and to be added to our email list, go to
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For the month of February the General Assembly is now on a brief break, except for the very important Joint Finance Committee (“JFC”). The JFC is made up of 12 members of the General Assembly. You should know: This group of 12 legislators is responsible for writing the operating budget for the state and deciding ‘grant-in-aid’ funding – which means that agencies and organizations will present their case for tax-payer funding. The JFC decides which requests will be accepted and worked into the budget.
FEBRUARY is the key month when decisions are being made about your tax dollars. It’s yet another huge reason to know your Representative and Senator.
These meetings are also public and can be viewed by the livestream link that is listed on the Legislative Calendar.
The JFC budget is presented as part of the “Governor’s Recommended Budget”. Final drafts are introduced to the General Assembly in May or June for a vote.
Here’s the Recap for last week:
Life and Family
We discussed this resolution in the last recap. It DID NOT PASS.
Here is the visual of who voted for and against this great resolution.
The Constitution
SCR 8 is not a bill. It is a resolution which states the values and intent of the legislature. This resolution sets up guns as the problem, rather than those that use them for violence. SCR 8 completely ignores the Constitutional right of Americans to keep and bear arms. That’s why it’s included in this recap.
This resolution was actually discussed in length. That speaks for itself. The debate between legislators brought up great points, one being that this resolution singles out only one source of violence though there are multiple forms that are a part of the annual violence statistics.
What’s super important is to investigate the language of these “resolutions” beyond the title. 👁Watch for our next email about that. It’s very eye opening!
SB 31: Amending the Delaware Contitution to add race, color, and national origin to § 21 of Article I to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware’s fundamental rights.
A constitutional amendment requires passage in two consecutive legislative sessions by a 2/3 vote count in both the House and the Senate. It passed last year (which was a separate “session”. Sessions last for 2 years). It was introduced this session and passed this week. Now it’s on to the Governor to sign. In the 60’s there was quite a bit of work done federally to address racial discrimination by recognizing civil rights protections for African-Americans, recognized in the U.S. Constitution. SB 31 is a bill that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin in Delaware’s state constitution.
What’s Next …
The regular session will resume on March 9th after the JFC hearings end. If these recaps are helpful to you, Join Us! Be part of our monthly zoom calls. Get inside information and build community with like-minded folks all over our state.
If you’re already a DFPC member, I’ll see you on this Wednesday’s zoom call and at the next in person meeting on the 17th. 🙌🏽
If this summary is helpful, drop us an email or text to let us know. Thanks for reading!
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Nandi Randolph
Policy Analyst
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