What is a Values Voter?

Last week at the Values Voters Summit in Washington D.C., Texas Governor and Presidential candidate Rick Perry introduced his speech with an off-the-cuff comment about how really, we’re all values voters. “The only question,” he said “is whose values are you voting for”?

This is true of course. The belief that abortion is wrong is undeniably a values based position—as is the belief that women have the right to end the life of their child if it happens to be inconvenient to them. There may be factual disagreements about whether or not it is a child, or disagreements over whether mitigating factors are relevant to the rightness or wrongness of the final decision. But ultimately, whatever your conclusion, it is a values based conclusion based on your belief about what is right or wrong, good or bad.

Such is life in all of public policy.

Government Requires Insurance to Pay for Contraceptives

By Rebecca Faust,

Federal agencies recently issued regulations under the new health care act impinging on the freedom of pro-life citizens to not purchase contraceptives. However, they are still accepting public comment on these regulations from citizens like you.

At the beginning of August, the Health Resources and Services Administration added contraceptives to the list of services which health insurance plans are required to cover without a co-pay. While this does not include surgical abortions, it does include morning after pills which can prevent implantation of an embryo. Furthermore, some churches and individuals have religious beliefs against use of any artificial contraceptives, even those which don't cause abortion.

How Pastors Helped Marriage in NC

Last week, the Governor of North Carolina convened a special legislative session to consider a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.

Like Washington, amending the state constitution in North Carolina requires two-thirds of both houses of the legislature and a majority of the public to support it on the ballot before it can become part of the constitution. Getting the measure through the legislature is thought to be the more difficult step. It is expected to pass when it goes to a vote next year.

But an interesting thing happened on the road to getting the measure on the ballot.

Abortion and Mental Health - A New Look

By Donald F. Calbreath, Ph.D

As the Washington state legislature prepares for its next session, we can anticipate pro-abortion forces once again trying to close crisis pregnancy centers. These centers provide a number of valuable services to pregnant women and their partners - pregnancy testing, counseling, health information, and adoption services among others. What they do not provide is abortions. This "lack" is something that greatly offends "pro-choice" supporters (whose only "approved" choice appears to be abortion) (1).

In the last legislative session, Planned Parenthood and its allies strongly supported HB 2837 (and its companion Senate bill 6452) which would have severely limited the activities of crisis pregnancy centers (2). Pro-life opponents said that these centers were providing false information to clients, including misinformation about links between abortion and breast cancer (worth another column at another time) and between abortion and mental health. Planned Parenthood's web site indicates that abortion is a relatively benign procedure for a psychological standpoint (3). They cite research studies that suggest few (if any) mental health issues for women undergoing an abortion. There are a number of problems with this work, including the fact that the most current reference is over five years old. No discussion of current literature is provided, leaving us with a very incomplete and misleading picture of the impact of abortion on mental health.

Planned Parenthood Admits Failure

During the last legislative session, the Washington State legislature chose to increase funding for Planned Parenthood through a contraceptive program called "Take Charge". In our testimony in opposition to HB 5912, we explained that there is no evidence to suggest that increasing funding for contraceptives actually reduces the unintended pregnancy rates.

Now, only a few months later, the Guttmacher Institute, which was started as a division of Planned Parenthood, has reached the same conclusion.

In a recently released analysis, the Guttmacher Institute confirmed that the overall unintended pregnancy rate in the U.S. has remained essentially flat since 1994. This is despite a steady increase in funding for contraceptives topping out at $305 million per year in 2006.

Washington’s Orphans Need You

Did you know that Washington has more than 10,000 children in foster care today? Did you know that more than 1,000 of those children are free to be adopted, if only a home could be found for them?

The world has lots of problems with no obvious solutions, but this isn’t one of them.

Polygamist Lawsuit Uses Same-Sex "Marriage" Arguments

By Joseph Backholm, Executive Director

The last thing in the world same-sex "marriage" advocates want to talk about is polygamy. If you ever tell them marriage recognition for same-sex relationships requires recognition of polygamy as well, the usual response is, "we're not talking about polygamy." Nor will they, even if you want them to.

Polygamy exposes the weakness of the same-sex "marriage" debate like nothing else. By refusing to openly support polygamy, in addition to same-sex "marriage", advocates admit that they really don't want "marriage equality" like they say they do. They just want their recognition. They are apparently content to allow other sexual minorities to wallow in their ostracism. Which, given their own history, is ironic.

Four Days to Double Your Investment

Last week we told you about an exciting matching opportunity that allows you to double your investment for the month of July. A generous ministry friend has offered to match every dollar, up to $20,000, that will be raised for the rest of July. Will you help us maximize this opportunity?

So far, many of you have. And we’re thankful. But we still have about halfway to go in order to make sure we take full advantage of this opportunity.

Whether its $5 or $500, your support makes our work to change the culture possible.

Summer can be a difficult season financially. But thanks to your support, we can continue focusing on the work that needs to be done. And as you know, there is a lot of work to be done.

The decision of the New York state legislature to pass same-sex “marriage” only weeks ago reminds us of the inevitability of that debate here in Washington. Since it is inevitable, we should prepare. If we do not prepare, we will lose.

Our desire to make sure we are prepared like never before is the motivation behind our extensive efforts to educate, motivate, and mobilize.

It is the reason we held our statewide pastor’s conference.

That is why we are putting Culture Impact Teams in churches throughout Washington. These citizen led organizations exist to remind the church that every Christian is a duel citizen-a citizen of heaven and a citizen of earth-and that we have obligations to both.

That is also why we are conducting Truth Project Trainings throughout Washington State. We have already done them in Spokane, Vancouver, and Renton, and are making plans for more this fall. As a result, nearly 100 individuals have been trained to lead small groups that will encourage their communities to think biblically about the culture, including: art, media, history, economics, philosophy, and more.

That is why we continue to build relationships with legislators. In August, we will be bringing legislators from Washington together with legislators from around the country for a Legislative Worldview Training in Louisiana. The title of the conference is "Consequences of Truth" where Chuck Colson, and other leading thinkers on issues related to worldview, will encourage legislators to think about how the reality of Truth impacts the ways they govern.

If you are excited about what is taking place on behalf of the culture and families here in Washington, we know you'll be excited to be part of it.

Thank you for your support. And please remember, your gift will be doubled for the remainder of July, up to $20,000.

Administration Threatens Conscience Rights

Here in Washington, the state has been working for years to force pharmacists who are pro-life must choose between being in business or violating their conscience.

It appears that same war on individual freedom is now being waged in Washington D.C. as well. We wanted to pass along the following letter that was published in the Washington Post from Jonathan Imbody, the President of the Christian Medical Association and director of Freedom2Care.

President Supports Repeal of DOMA

Yesterday President Obama gave his public support to legislation sponsored by Sen. Diane Feinstein that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as a union between one-man and one-woman.

Currently federal law, and almost all state law, says a person cannot not marry someone who is a minor, already married, a close relative, or of the same gender. Feinstein's bill, being called the Respect for Marriage Act, would remove the gender limitation but allow the other restrictions on marriage recognition to remain in place.

This position further confuses the President's position on the issue of marriage. During his 2008 campaign, the President said he did not support same-sex "marriage". Since then he has called the federal DOMA unconstitutional and was also instrumental in the repeal of the militaries' "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The President also opposed Prop 8 in California while still maintaining his position that he opposed same-sex "marriage".

Regardless, during an election in which most of the attention will be given to a weak economy and high employment, these developments all but guarantees that cultural issues like marriage will be a critical voting issue in the 2012 Presidential election.

Preparing for Success

In sports there is a saying that, "When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win." So it is in every effort. We cannot expect to win if we are not prepared to win.

While the issues from the last session are over, we know there are more coming. Will you help us prepare?

Others hope you will. And in order to encourage you to do so, a $20,000 matching grant has been offered for the rest of the month of July. Ever gift will be doubled, up to $20,000 for the rest of the month. Will you help us maximize this opportunity?

It is crucial that we are able to prepare year round for the battles we know will come, so that when they do come, we are prepared to win.

We have already had some exciting success this year. We defeated legislation targeting pregnancy centers and stopped an effort to allow contract surrogacy, effectively allowing the sale of children in Washington.

But there were other efforts we did not win. Despite our best efforts, and despite record deficits, the legislature still increased funding for Planned Parenthood. Why did that happen? Planned Parenthood is politically influential because they work year round in order to advance its pro-abortion agenda.

We must make sure they are not the only ones preparing.

That is why we recently conducted a Pastors Seminar with Dr. Wayne Grudem, to equip pastors to lead courageously on issues related to government and public policy.

That is why we are putting Culture Impact Teams in churches throughout Washington. These citizen led organizations exist to remind the church that every Christian is a duel citizen-a citizen of heaven and a citizen of earth-and that we have obligations to both.

That is also why we are conducting Truth Project Trainings throughout Washington State. We have already done them in Spokane, Vancouver, and Renton, and are making plans for more this fall. As a result, nearly 100 individuals have been trained to lead small groups that will encourage their communities to think biblically about the culture, including: art, media, history, economics, philosophy, and more.

That is why we are building relationships with legislators. In August, we will be bringing legislators from Washington together with legislators from around the country for a Legislative Worldview Training in Louisiana. The title of the conference is "Consequences of Truth" where Chuck Colson, and other leading thinkers on issues related to worldview, will encourage legislators to think about how the reality of Truth impacts the ways they govern.

Is it Really Death With Dignity?

By Don Calbreath, PHD

On November 4, 2008, 58% of the voters in the state of Washington approved Initiative 1000 (1). This measure allows certain terminally ill patients to receive lethal medications in order to terminate their lives, thus making Washington the second U.S. state to approve a form of physician-assisted suicide. Thirty of the thirty-seven counties had a majority of votes in favor of the initiative, with a few mainly rural counties in the state not giving a "yes" majority vote (2). (. Although the state voters had rejected a similar measure in 1991 (54% voted "no"), the tide of public opinion has made a major shift in the intervening seventeen years.

Gay Bar Cries Foul when Printer Declines Business

Just what does liberty mean?

A case in King County is forcing us, once again, to consider this question. According to reports, someone trying to open a gay bar on Capitol Hill in Seattle requested print services from a printer in Kent. According to the owner of the print shop, the material he was asked to print contained content he was uncomfortable with, so he made the decision not to print it.

We don't know what kind of conversations took place in the print shop, but we do know that the following email was ultimately sent to the bar owners. According to the owner of the print shop, it was sent without his approval by a part-time employee.

State Increases Planned Parenthood Funding to Balance Budget

Only weeks ago, Indiana becoming the first state to decide that Planned Parenthood would no longer receive money from tax payers. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

But here in Washington, the state took a very different approach.

With the passage of SB 5912, the state legislature decided to increase funding for Take Charge, a contraceptive program which Planned Parenthood claims pays for the services of 70% of their clients. Since Take Charge was implemented in 2001, Planned Parenthood of Western Washington has seen their revenues increase from $5.5 million to over $27 million a year.

Take Charge was created with the goal of reducing the state's costs for live births. But during that same period, the state's costs for live births have risen 70%, from $198 million to over $340 million a year.

Truth Project Training Coming To Renton and Spokane!

is coming to Renton June 25th and Spokane June 26th!



In a recent study, the Barna Research Group revealed a stunning statistic that continues to reverberate throughout the evangelical world. Only 9 percent of professing Christians have a biblical worldview (See sources below).

Host a Legislative Review with FPIW

Now that the legislative session has ended, lots of people will be asking themselves, "what happened, anyway?" We know there was a $5 billion deficit. But what about the issues that affect your family and your values?

Did you know that during this session the legislature was working with the abortion industry to shut down pregnancy resource centers? Did you know that during this legislative session the legislature was very close to allowing children to be bought and sold through surrogacy contracts? Did you know that the legislature removed the words "mother" and "father" from state law and replaced them with the word "parents" in an effort not to offend those who don't believe children benefit from both a mother and a father.

And these efforts are just representative of the culture wide effort to restructure the family.

The state is also on the verge of increasing funding for Planned Parenthood at a time when teachers are losing their jobs and the mentally and physically disabled are losing their assistance.

These are the stories that are often buried under the budget deficit headlines that we want to make sure you know about.

Over the next several weeks, FPIW will be all over Washington State meeting in homes, community centers, and churches to discuss what happened this session on issues related to life, marriage, religious freedom, and parental rights.

If you have a group of 30 or more that would like to hear more about these issues, and also discover what they can do to be part of the solution, we would love to meet with you.

To inquire about hosting a review of the legislative session with a representative of FPIW for your friends or community group, please contact us at info@fpiw.org or call our office at 425-608-0242.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Candy Cane Case Will Impact 41 Million Kids

On Monday, May 23, the Fifth Circuit Court of appeals will hear a casethat will impact every elementary school child in the nation. In the case Morgan et al. v. Plano (Texas) Independent School District, known as the infamous "candy cane" case, judges will determine whether elementary students are too young to have First Amendment freedoms.

This is the biggest religious freedom case in the nation.

Does Planned Parenthood Want Fewer Abortions?

This week the Indiana State Legislature voted to end taxpayer support of Planned Parenthood. Here in Washington, Planned Parenthood was testifying in support of legislation (SB 5912) that would increase their public subsidy despite a $5.5 billion deficit. During the course of their testimony, Planned Parenthood representatives explained that they really want to help reduce the number of abortions by giving people increased access to government funded contraception.

FPIW Testimony in Opposition to a Funding Increase for Planned Parenthood

Summary of Concerns

SB 5912: Increasing eligibility for Take Charge to 250% of federal poverty level.

• Unintended pregnancies are NOT due to lack of access to contraception: There is no evidence that the current pregnancy rates are due to lack of access to contraception. Conversely, there is a great deal of evidence that there is already virtually universal access to contraceptives.

• Increased contraception use linked to higher pregnancy and STD rates: Access to contraception does not necessary reduce pregnancy rates. Recent studies have found that it actually has led to increased pregnancy rates, as well as STD infections, because those on contraceptives are more likely to engage in risky behavior.

• Funding Take Charge does not save money: The Take Charge Program has not managed to reduce state costs for live births in the last 10 years. In fact, under Take Charge, the state's costs for live births have increased more than 70%. Therefore, the assumption that an increase in spending for Take Charge can be calculated as a decrease in the state's budget is erroneous.

• Take Charge forces those who do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood to fund it: Take Charge primarily funds Planned Parenthood, a non-profit that millions of Washingtonians would not choose to support with their charitable giving. It is not appropriate to channel more than $20 million to an organization much of the public is morally or philosophically opposed to when so many uncontroversial expenditures are being cut or eliminated.

Read the full testimony here.

Senate Considers Increasing Funding for Planned Parenthood

The special session will convene tomorrow. And when it does, the state Senate will continue to consider how best to close the $5.5 billion deficit the state currently has. One peculiar solution has been offered. On Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 at 2:30 pm, the Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold a public hearing on SB 5912, which would increase spending on contraceptives by $2.5 million. The bill proposes expanding eligibility for Take Charge, the state's primary state supported contraceptive program, to those who make up to 250% of the federal poverty level.

While taxpayers spend $15 - $20 million each year on Take Charge, (most of which comes from federal sources) the state pays much more to deliver babies than it did previously. In fact, since take charge has been operating,Washington State's spending on live birth's through Medicaid increased from $200 million to nearly $340 million in 2009.