(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Floor debates: Abortion, pronouns and election funding – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- April'] Date: 2023-04-06 Sen. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte, said everyone’s heard of the phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” “That saying is a bunch of baloney,” McClafferty said. “Because words do hurt, you guys.” McClafferty was speaking in opposition to a bill sponsored by Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, to allow transgender children to be misgendered at school by other students. House Bill 361 was one of several debated in the Senate, including proposals to restrict abortion as well as another on election funding heard in the House. McClafferty said senators received a letter from an emergency room physician whose colleague told him about a transgender teen patient who had attempted suicide. The ER doctor relayed the exchange he learned about to legislators. “He was talking to this patient and he asked the person why. Why did you try to do this?” McClafferty said. “And the person replied, ‘Because my state does not want me anymore.’” “That is one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.” Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, who carried HB 361 in the Senate, said the bill provides “clarity in a time when names and pronouns can be confusing.” He said the bill didn’t allow bullying, citing language that says the misgendering cannot rise to the definition of bullying in statute. McClafferty spoke to the nationwide push for similar legislation, but said Montana doesn’t have to be like other states. “We should all hold our heads up high and shout from the tallest mountains we have here in Montana and say, ‘We don’t need this bill or any other ones that discriminate against our citizens because we accept everybody for who they are,” she said. The bill passed second reading 29-21. Five Republicans voted against it. Sen. Matt Regier’s bill to restrict surgical abortion, or dilation and evacuation procedures, passed 31-19, with three Republicans voting with Democrats against it.. Sen. Jen Gross, D-Billings, cited the procedure as the most common abortion procedure, “often used for miscarriage management for those who have experienced heartbreaking loss after the first trimester.” She said preventing access to that care was “cruel.” Like Gross, Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee that heard this bill. Democrats left the hearing in protest citing anti-abortion rhetoric used by proponents and Republicans on the committee. Hinebauch spoke to the high emotion of the hearing and said he was moved by proponent testimony from people who said they survived abortion attempts. “These survivors deserve to live in a state that prevents these procedures from harming anyone else,” he said. Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, spoke about her own experience getting an abortion during a discussion on a bill to require abortion providers file additional paperwork with the state if they provide abortion pills. She said she had to cross state lines by herself for the procedure. “I don’t want any woman, any person, to have to go through that. Medication abortion is safe. We don’t need reporting on it,” she said. Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, who carried the bill, said the pills were dangerous and that the aggregate data was needed so that the legislature could monitor potential adverse reactions to abortion medication to “keep track of this emerging issue and make sure that it’s not getting too terribly out of control.” House Bill 786 sponsored by Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Great Falls, passed 30-20. Over in the House, a bill that would limit counties from accepting private funding for running elections was debated on the floor. Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, said this bill would make elections less secure and more costly. “This bill has its genesis not in Montana, but in a conspiracy theory that arose after the last election,” said Stafman, referring to the 2020 election. Election skeptics believe $350 million in funds donated from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg to a nonprofit that issued grants to support the mechanics of elections, from directing traffic to security and PPE, influenced the outcome of the 2020 election. Stafman said all the lawsuits around this issue were dismissed and this bill would deprive the state of philanthropic funds to support underfunded Elections Offices. Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, who carried the bill sponsored by Sen. Shelley Vance, R-Belgrade, said she didn’t mention a conspiracy theory, and said it’s up to the legislature to ensure there are safe elections. Stafman said billionaires will spend money on elections regardless, but now they will be restricted to spending it on attack ads. “That’s where our efforts ought to be, not chasing down conspiracy theories and decreasing the nonpartisan funds available to elections officials so they may improve the quality and security of our elections,” Stafman said. The bill passed 68-32. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/04/06/floor-debates-abortion-pronouns-and-election-funding/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/