Donna Walter - Freedom Voter Guide

Party:

Republican

District:

53

Office:

State House or Assembly

donnawalter.com

@DonnaWalterForHD53

Survey Responses:

S = Support
O = Oppose
NR = No Response

Life	S	O	NR
1. Prohibiting Abortion: Prohibiting abortion after a baby’s heartbeat is detected, with limited exceptions such as to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest.			X
2. Taxpayer Funded Abortion: Allowing taxpayer dollars to fund organizations that provide abortion.		X
3. Physician-Assisted Suicide: Allowing voluntary physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.			X

Candidate's Comments:

The state I am running in, Colorado, has the most liberal laws regarding #1, more liberal than even France. Having discussed this topic with Senator Kevin Lundberg in the past, it is our opinion that progress can't be made on this topic until we start getting larger numbers in office. As I am running against a very Progressive Majority Whip, replacing him will also unsettle the Democrats in the House, slowing their onslaught of "bad bills". This year there is a push to make this a part of the Constitution, and in doing so would remove the protections the taxpayer has had as, thankfully, at the present time the taxpayer does not fund these procedures and adding these procedures to the Constitution will make this a taxpayer issue that I believe ought to be the basis used to fight that ballot attempt this year. The saying of how does one eat an elephant – answered with, piece by piece - applies here. Colorado has a right to die law, aka the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act, approved in 2016. The proponents of the “Colorado death with dignity” argue that the term “suicide” doesn’t apply to terminally ill people who prefer to live but, facing certain death within months, choose a “gentler way of dying”. Colorado’s law specifically states that terminating one’s life under the law is not suicide, nor homicide or elder abuse under the law. If we are going to refer to such things, at least as laws are already on the books, semantics are important. As of 2024, the parameters as were originally set up were already becoming relaxed, which has been witnessed in other countries that have enacted such laws, leading to the death of elderly, handicapped, as well as unruly children. As an elected official, one must also work with legislative laws as have already been put in place, making course corrections from those. I would be one of a few, as the legislature stands now, making changes in existing laws. With the make-up of the current Colorado legislature, one must also know the laws as they already are, and this one was voted in by the people, which makes some of the yes/no, support/oppose type questions you propose unanswerable as proposed.

First Amendment	S	O	NR
4. Conscience Rights for Professionals: Prohibiting the government from denying required licensure or certification to individuals because of their religious or political beliefs.	X
5. Conscience Rights for Faith-Based Organizations: Exempting faith-based organizations (e.g. adoption/foster care providers, private schools) from regulations that cause them to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.	X
6. Transparency in Banking: Allowing consumers to obtain a written explanation when a financial institution shuts down the consumer’s account to protect against ideologically driven cancellations.	X
7. Privacy in Financial Giving: Protecting confidential donor information so individuals are able to privately support charities and causes of their choice without fear of being doxed.	X

Candidate's Comments:

These are First Amendment issues.

Family	S	O	NR
8. Parental Rights in Gender Identity Counseling: Allowing parents to obtain professional counseling for a child struggling with gender confusion to help the child find comfort with his or her biological sex.			X
9(a). Protected Class for Sexual Orientation: Elevating “sexual orientation” to a protected class alongside race, religion, sex, age, and disability in nondiscrimination law.		X
9(b). Protected Class for Gender Identity: Elevating “gender identity” to a protected class alongside race, religion, sex, age, and disability in nondiscrimination law.		X

Candidate's Comments:

#8 is a parent’s rights issue. If the parents believe there is an issue with their child that they want to take up on their own to handle, why should they be forbidden? It is their child. I see nothing in the question stating the government will be imposing such a thing upon the parents. The first #9, and second #9 question – as a doctor, this is not quantified, nor qualified.

Education and Public Safety	S	O	NR
10. School Choice: Allowing the use of tax credits, vouchers, and/or education savings accounts to cover the cost of children attending the school of their parents’ choice, including private religious schools.			X
11. Free Speech at School: Protecting teachers and students from being forced to refer to a person by inaccurate pronouns that do not align with the person’s sex.	X
12. Parental Rights in School Healthcare Disclosure: Directing schools to inform parents of any mental, physical, or emotional health information and treatment that a child is receiving at school.	X
13. Transparency in School Curriculum & Activities: Giving parents access to the curriculum, presentations, and activities that their children are learning in school and allowing them to opt their children out of school extra-curricular activities, presentations, or specific lessons to which the parents object.	X

Candidate's Comments:

#10 – allowing schools to accept government money lawfully puts them under the jurisdiction of the government. That defeats the intention of those looking to find relief through such measures. Affordable alternatives need serious consideration of which I have been active in the research of. #11 - This is a First Amendment, and parents rights issue. #12 & #13 – These are parent’s rights issues – ultimately the parent is responsible for their children.

Health and Welfare	S	O	NR
14. Medical Rights of Conscience: Protecting health care workers from losing their jobs if they decline to participate in a procedure or treatment that violates their personal beliefs and conscience.	X
15. Women’s Privacy: Preventing males who identify as female from entering sex-separated spaces intended for females, such as showers, locker rooms, bathrooms, dormitories, women’s shelters, prisons, etc.	X
16. Protecting Pregnancy Centers: Ensuring pregnancy centers that provide life-affirming support to women and their families are not targeted or penalized by government officials.	X