Abortion bills advance in California legislature

By Valerie Schmalz

Three bills that promote abortion are advancing in the California legislature, and all three have a strong likelihood of becoming law.

The most significant one is AB 2085 which would hamstring local governments, limiting the use of zoning regulations to prohibit or block the abortion facilities, said Molly Sheahan, associate director for Healthy Families of the California Catholic Conference. The bills have all passed the state Assembly and are on the floor of the state Senate for a vote. If approved by the full Senate, the legislation would then go to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature. An action alert from the Catholic Conference for AB 2085 is here.

“Pushing unwanted abortion on our communities is exploitative and is reproductive coercion. What women in maternity care deserts and in underserved communities cannot find are enough doctors who can safely monitor them through pregnancy and deliver their infants,” Sheahan said.

She noted 1 in 4 California women receives inadequate prenatal care, and maternal mortality has doubled in California, with astonishingly high rates for Black and Native mothers. Many rural California counties have no OBGYN.  Forty-six maternity wards have closed since 2012, half in the last three years.  

Keep in mind that in 2022, California voters approved a state constitutional amendment that allows abortion until birth. Nevertheless, the California legislature continues to write and pass more bills promoting abortion and abortion funding.

The California ProLife Council, an affiliate of National Right To Life, calls these three bills “Deadly California Bills.”

• AB 2085, “Planning and zoning: permitted use: community clinic” would make it nearly impossible for a local government to reject the building of an abortion facility, by expediting the local permitting process.  The legislation requires a local government to approve or deny the application within 60 days and also sets a short time frame for the appeal process. It passed the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Aug. 15 and is now up for a floor vote. 
• AB 2670: “Awareness campaign: abortion services”  requires the California Department of Public Health to develop an awareness campaign to publicize the website “abortion.ca.gov.”  The bill’s fiscal impact is estimated to be $2.4 million to $3.7 million in 2027-28. This is an extension of their previous promotion of that same website, the California Catholic Conference states. This would be a way to indirectly target pregnancy clinics as “fake” or “unsafe” as opposed to abortion clinics, the California ProLife Council states. The bill passed the state Senate Appropriations Committee Aug. 15 and is now up for a floor vote.
• AB 2490: “Reproductive Health Emergency Preparedness Program”  requires emergency rooms to receive training on abortion. This is something that emergency departments already have but this places it in statute, according to the California Catholic Conference. The bill was approved by the state Senate Appropriations Committee Aug. 15 and is now waiting for a floor vote.

All three bills continue the state Legislature’s ongoing promotion of abortion and contraception, Sheahan notes.

“Contraception is free, over-the-counter, and widely available. Abortion is already free and ubiquitous in California – performed by doctors, nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician assistants, at 400 facilities, on college campuses, and via telehealth and a dozen sources by mail,” said Sheahan.

“California is failing at reproductive healthcare that women need, and lawmakers need to ensure parity for the choices of pregnant and parenting women as they pursue motherhood,” said Sheahan. “These pregnancy needs ought not be ignored.”

-Valerie Schmalz is the director of the Office of Human Life & Dignity.