Blog — Whitney Westerfield

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Now It's Our Turn!

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Now It's Our Turn!

Your voices, and the voices of victims and survivors across Kentucky, were heard resoundingly in Frankfort today as Senate Bill 3 — Marsy’s Law — made final passage in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin!

Not only was Marsy’s Law the first bill to pass the Senate in 2018, it was the first bill to pass the House too, making a bold, bipartisan statement by the General Assembly that victims shall no longer be treated as mere witnesses to crimes, but should be recognized and granted fundamental rights to empower them and restore their dignity in a criminal justice system that for too long has ignored them!

Marsy’s Law has been my passion and I have proudly fought for the principle that crime victims deserve equal rights. I urge Kentuckians to vote YES on Marsy’s Law in November.”
— Sen. Whitney Westerfield, Marsy's Law Sponsor

Because of your voice and support, Marsy’s Law will appear on our ballots this November for voters across Kentucky to ratify as an amendment to our Constitution!  It has been a highlight of my time in Frankfort to sponsor Marsy’s Law and fight for its passage, but that fight continues until the voters have their say at the ballot box in 10 short months.  Continue this fight with me!

Get involved in the Marsy’s Law ballot campaign here by becoming a part of your county’s ML Team! Post to Facebook and Twitter, using #ML4KY to help us spread the word!

I look forward to November when we can stand shoulder to shoulder across Kentucky knowing we’ve made a lasting, historic stand for victims — giving constitutional strength to their voices for the first time!

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Shining a Light

Data reported by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in 2013, with the most current data available. Click the image to download the full report in PDF.

Data reported by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in 2013, with the most current data available. Click the image to download the full report in PDF.

I've written before about the condition known as NAS, or Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, which is diagnosed when a child is born drug dependent because of their mother's substance abuse during the pregnancy.  A recent report by the Lexington Herald-Leader draws further attention to this growing problem - and it is a growing problem.

As you can see from just a cursory look at the report at right, the occurrence of NAS is climbing quickly, and until now we only had data through 2011.  For reasons I have yet to uncover, a statute passed in 2013 closed the door to this data, preventing the anonymized statistics of these cases from being disclosed to the public, thereby concealing the growing problem and the need to help these children and their families.

Well, no more.  The moment I learned of that 2013 statute I went to work on a bill to fix it.  That bill draft was filed this year (2014) and became Senate Bill 47, allowing the anonymous data related to NAS diagnoses to be shared with the public, including policy makers in the Legislative and Executive branches, so that going forward we can make the best, well-informed decisions.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a ceremonial bill signing for SB 47 with the Governor. (Click the image to enlarge).

While SB47 was an important first step, I will continue to work on legislation aimed at protecting and helping the most vulnerable Kentuckians – especially the unborn and the newborn who have no control over their own lives yet stand to suffer the most from substance abuse.  

Be watching in 2015 as I continue this fight!

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