LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez introduced a motion on Friday to prepare the city for a possible surge of women from other states seeking legal abortions in California.
The movie was in preparation for the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court rolling back federally-protected abortion rights this summer. The high court is expected to issue a ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization then, a case out of MIssissippi that challenges a local abortion law, and could effectively overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decided against the JWHC.
"A woman's right to an abortion is crucial to our fight for equality in America," Martinez said. "We cannot ask women to risk their lives by revoking their right to a safe medical procedure. I stand with women, California stands with women, and today, our city has reaffirmed that Los Angeles stands with and for women."
Martinez’s motion, seconded by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, requests that City Attorney Mike Feuer file an amicus brief in support of JWHC’s challenge to Mississippi’s restrictive abortion law. It would also direct the Chief Legislative Analyst to coordinate L.A.’s response to an influx of out-of-state abortion seekers with the city departments of health services and public health.
Martinez's office cited a study from the Guttmacher Institute that said California may experience as much as a 3,000% increase — from 46,000 to 1.4 million — of women of reproductive age whose closest abortion provider is the state.
Related
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok