If Roe v. Wade is overturned when the Supreme Court rules on a Mississippi law in the coming weeks — as a leaked draft opinion from the court suggested it will be — you would think little would change in the state of California.
After all, overturning the 1973 decision would simply send the decision back to the states, and California has one of the most abortion-friendly slate of laws on the books. The state pays for some abortions via its Medicaid program, according to The Associated Press. Private insurers are forced to pay for abortions under state law. How could the provisions for killing an unborn child become any more liberal?
There are plenty of ways, actually. Not only will the state potentially become one of the first to guarantee the right to abortion in its constitution, a pending bill could also mean taxpayers will be paying for women to travel to the state to have their babies aborted.
(As the Supreme Court’s official decision on overturning Roe v. Wade nears — and the investigation into the Supreme Court leak deepens — The Western Journal will be here with news and analysis from a Christian, conservative perspective you won’t hear in the mainstream media. If you support our mission, please consider subscribing.)
According to California-based conservative publication The Center Square, two state legislators introduced a bill in March that would “establish a fund in the State Treasury to provide grant money to nonprofit organizations that assist low-income pregnant individuals or people with financial barriers with accessing abortion services.” This includes travel money and other forms of reimbursement.
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Senate Bill 1142 was introduced by Democrat Sens. Nancy Skinner and Anna Caballero in anticipation of a potential Supreme Court decision that either allows state laws like Mississippi’s — which bans abortion after 15 weeks — to stand or overturns Roe v. Wade entirely.
The bill would provide “[p]ractical support services, such as airfare, lodging, ground transportation, gas money, meals, dependent childcare, doula support, and translation services, to help a person access and obtain an abortion,” according to the text of the legislation.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority seems poised to do the unthinkable. If the court overturns 50 years of settled law and takes away a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, California will not stand idly by,” said Skinner, vice chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.
“With SB 1142, California sends a clear message to the rest of the nation: We are fully committed to ensuring that California women and those who may seek refuge here have access to all reproductive services, including abortion.”
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According to the text of the legislation, it “would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, or an entity designated by the agency, to establish an internet website where the public can find information on abortion services in the state.
“The bill would require the agency to also develop, implement, and update as necessary, a statewide educational and outreach campaign to inform the public on how to access abortion services in the state.”
The bill came after a December report from the California Future of Abortion Council, which is backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other pro-abortion Democrats, recommended the changes.
According to Courthouse News Service, the report saw the potential to turn California into a national hub for abortion, and this included reimbursement for travel and lodging money.
“As a majority of Supreme Court Justices appear ready to undermine the bodily autonomy of millions and allow extreme abortion restrictions to stand, California can and must go further and do more to ensure that anyone seeking abortion services within our borders can get the care they want, when and where they need it,” said the California Future of Abortion Council’s Amy Moy in a statement.
It’s little surprise, then, that this is exactly what state Democrats want to do.
The bill is still pending in the state legislature — but, given the leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health earlier this week, state Democrats are pushing to pass as much pro-abortion legislation as possible in the shortest time frame.
According to Reno Gazette-Journal, over a dozen pro-abortion bills are in the pipeline, including SB 1142 and the proposed amendment to the state constitution which would guarantee access to abortion.
“We know we can’t trust the Supreme Court to protect reproductive rights, so California will build a firewall around this right in our state constitution,” a joint statement from Gov. Newsom, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins read. “Women will remain protected here.”
Well, so long as those women have been born, that is.
As for the unborn, the state has declared open season on them no matter what their gender — and if you’re a California taxpayer, no matter how you feel on the issue, you could soon be paying to turn your state into a vacation destination for abortion.
