The Senate State Affairs Committee voted to introduce our Parental Consent legislation yesterday. It should have an official bill number early next week.

Sen. Russ Fulcher (R-Kuna) is championing the measure in the Senate; Rep. Tom Loertscher (R-Iona) is the chief House sponsor. Sen. Fulcher fielded a variety of questions from members of the panel – many of whom have been involved in this effort for many years.

Naturally, some members of the committee are skeptical of claims that this version of Parental Consent will withstand the scrutiny of Judge Lynn Winmill and his compatriots on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. We have, after all, been down this road several times. Skepticism aside – the hearing went well. Sen. Fulcher handled preliminary questions with skill and appreciation for the long and hard road we’ve been on to secure basic protections for our daughters.

Representatives of Attorney General Lawrence Wasden also handled themselves and the questions with great professionalism. His office has put tremendous effort into resolving a number of potential problems with a parental consent law in Idaho; given two rounds of litigation in Idaho federal courts since 2000, that job has gotten exceedingly complex.

In what is a rarity in our experience – the motion by Sens. Little and Jorgenson to formally consider the bill was supported by a unanimous voice vote by the committee.

Now that the bill has been made public – we urge you to contact legislators. It may be a week or more before the actual hearing, which gives the Abortion Lobby plenty of time to organize public opposition. Your diligent prayer support is necessary for this effort to succeed.

We’ll have a more thorough discussion of the legislation in a coming post.

But let’s close this one with a warm “thanks” to the Lord for helping us remain faithful to this effort – and for the leadership of champions like Russ Fulcher and Tom Loertscher.