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By Miriam Raftery
June 9, 2022 (San Diego) – As the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to ban or restrict abortion, San Diego’s State Senator Toni Atkins (D-39) has introduced Senate Constitutional Amendment 10 to protect women’s right to access abortion and contraception in California.
“This is an historic moment, and it calls for an historic response,” Senator Atkins states in a press release. “SCA 10 will safeguard our ability to make decisions about our bodies and access critical health care for generations to come. The amendment will reinforce that in California, these are private medical discussions between the patient and their health care provider, and should be based on scientific fact, not political agenda.”
She adds, “California has long been a leader in protecting reproductive freedom and providing reproductive services to women and families. This year alone, more than a dozen bills have been introduced that are aimed at not only protecting, but also expanding, reproductive rights. Additionally, the 2022-23 state budget proposals currently being negotiated by the Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom prioritize more than $125 million to shore up our existing reproductive health care services and infrastructure in California.”
That stands in sharp contrast to many states that have trigger laws which will make most or all abortions illegal if the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade. Some others have bills pending that would severely restrict access to abortion or even birth control.
SCA 10 will be heard by a policy committee next week and must then be passed by a two-thirds majority in both the state Senate and Assembly by June 30. Next it must go to voters, who can pass it with a simple majority vote in the November election. By placing abortion and birth control rights into the state’s Constitution, no future state legislature could overturn those rights.
But even a constitutional amendment at the state level may not guarantee abortion and birth control access, if Republicans regain control of Congress in a future election. Some GOP representatives have pledged to push for Congressional action to ban abortion nationwide, no longer leaving the matter up to individual states.
Congress could in theory also take action to protect abortion rights nationwide, as House Democrats have sought to do, but the measure lacks support in the Senate, where Republicans have enough votes to prevent passage.
“We are at a pivotal moment in our nation's history where our rights, and people's health and wellbeing, are on the line,” Senator Atkins concludes. “I am committed to ensuring that California remains a beacon of hope for women, families, and all people in the state and across the nation. In California, the choice to have an abortion is—and must always be—yours.”
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