The 153rd General Assembly officially gaveled back in this week, returning on Tuesday for the second half of Delaware’s two-year legislative session. That distinction matters, because it means any bill that did not fail last year is still very much alive. We should fully expect to see many of those proposals resurface and continue moving at some point this year.
It’s also important to note that this is an election year. Not only is it highly likely to see an uptick in the number of bills introduced, but also an increase in the level of significance of the issues they address. Incumbent lawmakers are often eager to demonstrate accomplishments to their voters—sometimes while also signaling, quietly or not so quietly, what they intend to continue pushing if reelected.
With that context in mind, let’s revisit a small few of the major bills we are actively tracking from last year.
First, we continue to watch two separate proposals that would add abortion to the Delaware Constitution: Senate Bill 5 and House Bill 14. While the language differs between the two, a they both have a major outcome alike. Both bills would enshrine abortion as a constitutional right in our state, making it far more difficult—if not impossible—for future legislatures to enact meaningful protections for life.
House Bill 14 has already passed out of its first committee hearing and is now on the House Ready List, awaiting debate before the full chamber. The text of the bill itself is brief, establishing a constitutional “right to privacy.” However, the synopsis reveals far more about the bill’s intent. It cites a series of court cases, revealing that this “right to privacy” would extend to areas like marriage, contraception, procreation, and even an individual’s ability to “define one’s own concept of existence.” That kind of sweeping language should raise red flags. HB 14’s broad sweep has the potential to justify expansive changes in policy that legislators may not even fully realize in the moment, leaving it up to the courts to interpret as they see fit later.
Senate Bill 5 is more explicit. It would add “reproductive freedom” to the Delaware Constitution, a term defined broadly enough to include things such as abortion and sterilization procedures. SB 5 passed the Senate last year on a strictly party-line vote and is now awaiting consideration in the House Administration Committee.
We strongly oppose both of these measures.
That opposition is especially important to restate in light of renewed national conversations surrounding the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment, first enacted in 1976, has long served as a pro-life compromise by prohibiting federal taxpayer dollars from being used to fund elective abortions. While recent rhetoric from national leaders has suggested a willingness to weaken or move away from Hyde, Delaware has already gone further. A few sessions ago, our state enacted a law allowing state taxpayer dollars to be used to fund abortion procedures.
As a biblical worldview organization, DFPC does not shift its position based on political winds. We affirm the value of human life because every person is made in the image of God. That conviction is foundational to our mission—to see Delaware become a state where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is cherished. Regardless of what happens at the federal level or right here in our state, we will continue to stand life and speak truth on the issue.
If you want more information on SB 5 or HB 14 and to contact your legislator directly and urge them to oppose both—you can find everything you need at DelawareFamilies.org/protectlife.
Another major issue we cannot overlook is Senate Bill 100, the so-called marriage amendment. This proposal would require Delaware to recognize any form of marriage as legally equivalent under state law. We’ve covered this bill in more depth in previous updates, which can be found on the legislative update page, but I mention it here today to connect dots with another bill. HB 14’s expansive “right to privacy” language functions as an all-inclusive amendment. If passed, it could effectively accomplish the goals of both SB 5 and SB 100, making HB 14 the most dangerous of the three. But that is exactly why these bills must be examined carefully—not just for what they say plainly, but for what they can trigger elsewhere.
Turning now to a piece of legislation filed this session, Senate Bill 215 was introduced last week and could be scheduled for a committee hearing any time in the next couple of weeks. SB 215 is designed to protect girls’ sports in Delaware by maintaining sex-based categories. These categories exist for a reason. The biological differences between males and females create inherent competitive disparities, and ignoring those differences results in unfair and unsafe outcomes for female athletes. If biological differences did not matter, sex-segregated sports would not exist at all—but we know that isn’t the case and pretending otherwise simply doesn’t change the facts.
This issue is also playing out nationally on January 13th as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases—Little v. Hecox out of Idaho and West Virginia v. B.P.J. While final decisions in these cases are not expected until as late as next summer, the conversation surrounding them is critically important right now. With more than 25 states already enforcing laws that protect fairness in girls’ sports, these cases have the potential to help confirm what we know to be biologically true or to reinforce an ideological stance not rooted in truth. Whether Delaware lawmakers choose to acknowledge biological reality or continue advancing ideological policies remains to be seen. To make sure your voice is heard on the matter, go directly to DelawareFamilies.org/savefemalesports.
There were also several notable moments in Legislative Hall this week. A resolution calling for a Convention of States, SCR 114, sparked a heated exchange on the Senate floor. In a highly unusual outcome, the vote ended in a 3 way tie with seven senators in favor, seven opposed, and seven choosing not to vote. In practice, a refusal to vote is essentially a “no” vote, which in this case aided in failing the resolution. It’s rare to see that many legislators decline to vote and still more rare to see that sort of tie. The explosive atmosphere created with this conversation is one to, at the very least, take note of.
Some honorable mentions from committee hearings, were HB 201, which would provide legal immunity for certain crimes committed by individuals actively being trafficked. HB 224 is another to mention as it expands the authority to sign death certificates to include physician assistants, rather than limiting that responsibility solely to physicians. But we’ll talk more on that in an upcoming update. Both bills passed their committee hearings, along with several others that we don’t have time to discuss in this update.
Outside of these mentioned today, there are many other policies—some beneficial, others deeply concerning—that are still being drafted behind the scenes and have yet to be formally introduced. Again, this is an election year. Many of the bills that surface will be driven by explicit worldview commitments or at the very least reveal the subconscious worldview at play on any given issue. That reality makes vigilance essential, particularly as conversations with deeply socialist and Marxist narratives are presented in simple bills that are hardly discernable by the average person.
We’re also watching a number of upcoming retirements. Representatives Postles and Collins, along with Senators Lawson and Sokola, have announced they will be stepping down. That opens questions about who will seek those seats, who will assume leadership roles, and how committee dynamics may shift. These transitions matter, and we’ll be tracking them closely.
The difference that engagement can make should not be taken for granted. For some of the opportunities where your engagement matters, we’ve made it easy to take action. The urls already mentioned in this update tell you where to make your voice heard on that particular bill. If you’d like to find all of the active campaigns we’re following, you can find them all together at DelawareFamilies.org/updates. There, you can also find archives of past legislative updates and the full list of bills we’re tracking but didn’t have time to cover today.
Be sure to tune in next week as we continue monitoring movement in both chambers and breaking down what it means for Delaware families.