My Colleagues Are Afraid
Like many conservative people in our country, my legislative colleagues are afraid. Fearful people lose the courage to be objective and compassionate. The Wyoming legislature has lost its compass for protecting the rights of the few against the wishes of the many. The past session was one of the hardest that I remember. I long for the “live and let live” Wyoming that seems to have slipped from our grasp.
Protecting people’s rights is what the Wyoming Constitution is for and that is this is what the healthcare freedom amendment is about.
Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions. The parent, guardian or legal representative of any other natural person shall have the right to make health care decisions for that person. Wyoming Constitution, Article 1 Section 38
The Constitution does allow for “reasonable and necessary” restrictions to this right, but SF 99 was neither reasonable nor necessary by any stretch of the imagination.
I was a co-sponsor of this clarification of our rights. Now these rights must be protected, and we have a duty to find a test case to challenge SF 99 and force the new law to be thrown out by the Wyoming courts. We must raise the money and find the plaintiffs to make this happen and uphold our Constitutional protections for all people.
It is a difficult time in Wyoming. People lacking strong ties to our State now wield considerable influence in party politics and the Legislature. The Republican Party has never been so polarized with the minority who make up the leadership fearful of change and trending far to the right.
We cannot make change unless we get new people in the legislature, and I encourage you to do your part. Remember to register to vote by May 15th – do not assume that you are already registered as names are purged from the voter rolls if you have not voted in the past two elections. Vote in the August primary and the general election. Work for and support candidates who will thoughtfully protect the rights of all citizens.
Freedom-based arguments did not carry the day and the final version of SF 99 received only nine no votes and was signed into law by the Governor. Chris Rothfuss and I were proud to be the two senators casting a no along with 7 colleagues from the House of Representatives. The points we made that SF 99 is not a reasonable and necessary restriction on the clearly defined rights of parents to make health care decisions will fuel the court challenge.
Cale Case
