Good news! The bill requiring all health insurance policies in Washington State that cover maternity care to also cover abortion care, otherwise known as the Reproductive Parity Act, has the votes needed to pass in the state Senate (the bill already passed in the House). The only minor challenge now is getting HB 2330 voted out of the Senate Rules Committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote before it's shelved into the oblivion of Olympia's bureaucratic nethers.

"We have the votes we need," stresses Dana Laurent, Political Director of Planned Parenthood Votes NW, "but we're urging people to call their legislators because the cutoff deadline [for voting on the bill] is March 2 at 5:00 pm."

So call your state senators!

Not to beat my ovarian drums to death, but passage of this bill would protect Washington women's reproductive rights (not to mention access to affordable abortions) at a time when Congressional Republicans are seeking to legislate those rights to death via the federal Affordable Care Act.

"We need to move this bill to the floor quickly so we can pass it and move on to the important business of the Washington State budget," Laurent adds.

(Because our legislators are *so eager* to tackle that frothing, white, money-sucking whale.)