I was recently approached at Harvest Days by a woman gathering signatures for an initiative to repeal the recently passed Washington state Senate Bill 5599. This bill has become controversial because it involves how to handle runaway and unhoused minors who are seeking or receiving protected healthcare services; these services include abortion and gender-affirming care.
The signature-gatherer cloaked this bill as “allowing the state to detain children against their parents’ wishes” and spoke about said children being groomed into the LGBTQ+ community while they were “detained.”
Whoa. Hearing talk about children being “groomed” by members of the LGBTQ+ community are red flags for me. Children are far more likely to be groomed by a close relative or members of their church, but she didn’t seem concerned about that.
I started reading SB 5599 while she talked to my friend — it’s easy to find the bill online. I only got two pages into it before I realized that she was, at best, exaggerating, at worst, flat-out lying.
I told her that what I was reading contradicted her previous statements. She replied that there were “exemptions.” I asked her to give me the specific section that contained those exemptions. She couldn’t. She said I would have to read the 11-page document to find them. My friend and I declined to sign her initiative petition. I then went home and read the entire bill, and my hunch that she was spreading misinformation was confirmed.
Here’s what I found: Washington state law mandates that within 24 to 72 hours of receiving a runaway minor, shelters or programs must inform the parents and hometown police department of the child’s mental and physical state, where they are and how they got there — unless there is evidence of abuse (aha, the exemption). SB 5599 added to that exemption to include minors seeking “protected healthcare.” Instead of informing the parents — they must still inform police — when minors are seeking protected healthcare services, the shelter or program now notifies the state Department of Children, Youth and Families. A social worker from the DCYF then contacts the family to “offer services designed to resolve the conflict and accomplish reunification of the family.” Also of note: The age of consent for gender-affirming surgery without parental approval is still 18 in our state. And minors away from their parents are eligible for Apple Health, the state healthcare plan.
I appreciate that Washington state is leading the country in protecting the civil rights of everyone, including minors, at a time when other states are rolling back the rights and freedoms of many individuals. I have no doubt that this initiative will end up on the ballot in November. I will not vote to repeal SB 5599. I hope that many of you will take the time to read for yourselves and realize that this bill is not the bogeyman some make it out to be, but instead offers protection and help to a vulnerable population.
Michelle Yenderrozos
Battle Ground
