Be a state advocate…get started now!

Posted by: Barbara Collura at May 21, 2012
Category: Federal and State legislation

You may recall the legislative battle we had in Virginia this past February. The Personhood bill, HB 1, was tabled until next year, so we know it is coming back. RESOLVE has already started planning our “Virginia strategy” and how we can effectively kill this bill before the session even starts. I won’t give away all the secrets (the opposition might be reading this blog!) but I will say that developing relationships with our Delegates and Senators in Richmond is a key task and something I’ve personally already started doing. I happen to live in Virginia, so a couple weeks ago I sat down with my Delegate on a Tuesday evening and chatted about the needs of the infertility community and why I opposed HB 1 this year and why I (and RESOLVE) will continue to oppose this bill in the future. Of course we spent some of the time talking about our families, public service, our local community…you know, “chit-chat,” the “getting to know you” stuff, but it was important for me to convey to my Delegate why I, a woman who faced infertility, opposes the Virginia Personhood Bill. After the meeting I sent him a thank you note and promised to keep him updated. Because of that meeting I feel confident that when it comes to this issue I have a friend in Richmond. It was time well spent. I know he has many other constituents meetings and other issues he has to address on a daily basis, but because I made contact and plan to keep in touch, I know I can reach out to him on this issue and he will remember our meeting.

No matter where you live, this is a great time of the year to follow my lead. Do you know that 23 states have thus far had personhood bills or ballot initiatives introduced? How many more will be added to the list in 2013? We need people in every state to help with our advocacy efforts. We are not asking for you to camp out at your state capital or testify at legislative hearings. I am asking you to call your state Representative/Delegate/Assemblyperson and your state Senator, and ask to meet with them. My Delegate’s office was about 15 minutes from my house (with traffic!). He met me at a time that was convenient for me. And his staff person handling his schedule couldn’t have been nicer. All-in-all a most pleasant experience. You can do the same. Add to your to do list for the summer to “reach out and meet with my state elected officials”. And then tell us how it went! Email us at info@resolve.org as we track our progress state-by-state. Please, this is so easy and something you can do that can possibly make all the difference in the world to the entire infertility community in your state.

To Do:

Barbara Collura is the Executive Director for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. She can be reached at bcollura@resolve.org or 703.556.7172.