Parker Bond - Freedom Voter Guide

Party:

Democrat

District:

19

Office:

State Senate

www.votebond.com

@VoteBond19

Survey Responses:

S = Support
O = Oppose
NR = No Response

Life	S	O	NR
1. Prohibiting Abortion: Prohibiting abortion except when necessary to save the mother's life.		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:

I support every persons right to bodily autonomy, and do not think that the government should be telling Doctors and patients what they can or cannot do. I trust every Utahn, in consultation with a licensed Physician, to make the right medical decisions for themselves and their families, and don't think government should be banning safe, widely accepted medical treatments unilaterally.

First Amendment	S	O	NR
4. Conscience Rights for Creative Professionals: Allowing creative professionals (photographer, baker, wedding vendor) to decline to participate in events or create messages that violate their moral or religious beliefs.			X
5. Conscience Rights for Faith-Based Organizations: Exempting faith-based organizations from regulations that cause them to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.			X
6. Free Speech on Campus: Prohibiting speech zones or speech codes that restrict where students can discuss controversial or unpopular issues on college campuses.			X
7. Donor Privacy: Protecting confidential donor information so individuals are able to privately support charities of their choice without fear of being doxed.			X

Candidate's Comments:

I support legal protections for individuals and organizations, including protections against discrimination against a protected class such as race or gender. I think the existing legal protections for faith based organizations is sufficient as is. I support freedom of speech, in that I don't think the government should be promoting or banning speech. Individuals and groups are free to organize their own discussions as they see fit. I do not see an urgent need to change how donations to charities are reported, but think ALL donations to a political candidate or political cause should be required to be reported in a transparent manner, including donations to SuperPACs which, in my opinion, are full of dark money from activist Billionaires.

Family	S	O	NR
8. Women's Sports: Preventing biological males who identify as female from competing in women's sports.			X
9. Gender Identity Counseling: Allowing parents to obtain professional counseling for children struggling with gender identity issues to help them reach their desired outcome.	X
10(a). Protected Class for Sexual Orientation: Adding “sexual orientation” as a protected class alongside race, religion, sex, age, and disability in nondiscrimination law.	X
10(b). Protected Class for Gender Identity: Adding “gender identity” as a protected class alongside race, religion, sex, age, and disability in nondiscrimination law.	X

Candidate's Comments:

In Utah, of many thousands of student athletes, you can count on one hand the total number of Trans students competing in all school sports. Athletic associations governing school sports already have regulations governing who can or cannot compete in different sporting events, including rules that govern how long a student must have been on hormones/hormone blockers as part of a transition process to qualify to play on a gender other than what is on their birth certificate. I do not think legislation that targets a single child is something we should be focusing on. I recognize that outside of XX and XY genes, there are individuals born with extra or fewer genes regulating gender expression, such as XXY, XXX, XYY, and others. I believe that every person should have access to healthcare, including mental health care and counseling, that they need to become a happy, healthy, productive member of society.

Education and Public Safety	S	O	NR
11. School Choice: Allowing the use of tax credits, vouchers, and education savings accounts to cover the cost of children attending the school of their parents' choice, including private schools.		X
12. Parental Rights for Opt-Out: Giving parents the ability to opt their children out of school materials and lessons to which the parents object.		X
13. Critical Race Theory: Allowing schools to teach children that America's laws, policies, and society perpetuate systemic racism and that people are either oppressors or oppressed, or privileged or marginalized, based on their skin color.			X
14. Parental Rights for Transparency in Education: Giving parents access to the curriculum and materials their children are learning in school and allowing them to decide whether or not their children should be exposed to certain ideas.			X

Candidate's Comments:

Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is not being taught in Utah's Public K-12 Schools. We already have elected school boards, school districts, and other organizations that do a good job of determining curriculum, and do not think we should be asking our teachers to teach 30 different lessons to 30 different students. In Utah parents already have a wide variety of choices for public education, including permitting to attend a school outside of their normal geographic boundary, charter schools, and more. I do not think a single parent should be able to dictate what material an entire class is or isn't taught. While I think every child would benefit from a quality public education, and society is better off with a robust public education system, parents are free to spend their own money to have their child attend a private school or homeschool them if they would rather their child not benefit from a taxpayer funded public education. Utah is currently 50th/51 in public school funding, ahead of only Idaho. I would strongly oppose any attempt to take much needed money from our public schools and give it to a private school.

Health and Welfare	S	O	NR
15. Medical Rights of Conscience: Allowing health care workers and providers the freedom to practice medicine in accordance with their personal beliefs and conscience.			X
16. Parental Rights for Healthcare Disclosure: Requiring schools to disclose to parents if the school is providing counseling or medical services to a child who desires to undergo “gender transition.”			X
17. Parental Rights for Mental Health Disclosure: Directing schools to inform parents of any mental, physical, or emotional health information and treatment that a child is receiving at school.			X

Candidate's Comments:

I struggle to understand why someone would choose to become a doctor or nurse knowing they wouldn't want to provide treatment. If a healthcare worker refuses to follow accepted medical best practice, including being vaccinated to ensure a health staff, they should expect appropriate workplace consequences, including being let go. They can always get a job somewhere else if they feel strongly about something. I believe in doctor patient confidentiality, but also that a legal guardian has a responsibility towards the children they are raising. For example, a child might be less likely to disclose to a qualified counselor parental abuse and other issues if they knew the school would immediately inform the abuser of what was said. I would not seek to brashly pass any law that makes large changes to the status quo in this area.

Endorsements:

Note: The endorsements listed are self-reported by the candidates and have not been independently verified.

Canyons Education Association
Women's Democratic Club of Utah
Utah Education Association