The Bill Passed the House!!!

Late last night, after over 2 hours of long debate, SHB 1267 passed off the House floor with a vote of 57-41! That's the bill I testified on. In fact, I was able to find the link to where I testified: My testimony It's fairly lengthy, but I begin talking at about minute 24 if you want to skip to my part. Now on to the next hurdle - the Senate!

A person who was there during the House debate had this to say, "40 amendments were offered but only the 2 offered by the bill's Prime Sponsor Rep. Pedersen were adopted...Rep. Miloscia (D), the member who offers the majority of the amendments, is a VERY strong Catholic and passionate about his beliefs. He feels that the bill is more about "baby selling" and the "slavery of women" then the creation of families. While his fellow Ds may not agree with him I think it is important to note that they let him speak and share his passion with a level of respect. In an environment usually built on conflict and disagreement he was able to stand up within his caucus with a differing opinion."

Now on to the next hurdle - the Senate! The bill continues to be scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, March 15 at 1:30 in the Senate. The hearing should be shorter but after the long House floor debate I think we can expect a bit more opposition on the billThe bill continues to be scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, March 15 at 1:30 in the Senate. The hearing should be shorter but after the long House floor debate I think we can expect a bit more opposition on the bill."
Since the Senate was where the bill didn't pass last year, I'm really hoping I can make the hearing to testify. At this point it's all going to depend on when my egg retrieval date is, and when the transfer to the surrogate is. I'll probably know more about when the retrieval may be on Friday after my appointment, and then about 24 hours after the retrieval, when they've had a chance to see how many embryos we have and their quality, we'll know when we're going to be able to do the transfer.

Whew. It seems like everything is either moving at lightening speed, or at a snail's pace with all of this. Meanwhile, the stimulant hormones are making me pretty irritable and weepy. I'm so glad I don't usually have PMS!