SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – State leaders announced on Wednesday they are introducing a bill which would enshrine the rights to an abortion and the use of contraception in the California Constitution.
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The amendment, SCA 10, was proposed to the California legislature just over one month after a leaked draft opinion revealed the U.S. Supreme Court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50 year-old landmark case which federally guarantees the right to an abortion.
SCA 10 was co-authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, other legislative colleagues and in partnership with Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and NARAL Pro-Choice California.
"Too many times, history has shown us that human rights must be enshrined in the constitution so that no one can infringe upon them. This is one such historic moment, and it must be met with a historic response," Atkins said in a release. "It is our duty as legislators to fight for the people of California and their right to make decisions about their own bodies and access critical health care. This constitutional amendment is the additional armor we need for that battle."
The amendment needs a two-thirds majority vote in both the state Senate and Assembly by a June 30 deadline to be placed on the November ballot, where California voters would decide its fate.
If the legislation is passed, California would become the first state in the country to explicitly enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. It "would amend the California Constitution to prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives."
"Recent events have shown us that we must take every measure imaginable to ensure the right to abortion remains possible in California. No judge, or politician, should be able to rob people of their power to control their own bodies, their own lives, their own futures," Jodi Hicks, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California President and CEO, said. "Planned Parenthood is grateful for the California leaders who repeatedly center patients and the care they need and want, including abortion care, and fight to ensure our state is a beacon of hope for what is possible."
The bill is the latest effort by California lawmakers to combat the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade. Gov. Gavin Newsom in May introduced a $125 million budget proposal to bolster the state’s reproductive health care system. He also previously vowed to codify the right to choose in the state's constitution.
"California will not sit on the sidelines as unprecedented attacks on the fundamental right to choose endanger women across the country," Newsom said. "This measure will ensure that women in our state have an inviolable right to a safe and legal abortion that is protected in our constitution. I thank Senate President pro Tempore Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon for their leadership and look forward to our continued partnership to advance California's nation-leading commitment to protecting and strengthening access to reproductive health care services in our state."
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