Earlier this year, we celebrated the 49th anniversary of safe and legal abortion with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Unfortunately, when the Supreme Court was debating the case heard last fall (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization), it was not likely that it would be the final anniversary of the landmark case. I knew Dobbs’ results brought despair. Because people across the country are seeking dire medical care that can be persecuted in many states.
As a doctor, I know that the patchy access to abortion we are experiencing is causing confusion and despair for many. That’s why we need to take action in California.
We have always known that abortion bans and restrictions on certain types of health care will marginalize the most vulnerable patients and widen the gap between those who have access to life-saving health care and those who do not. I’m here.
But with lawmakers pledging to expand access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraception, California has a chance to have its voters heard on the polls this fall.
The State of California has established the Foundation to Protect Access to Abortion and Contraception in Proposition 1, a ballot initiative to enshrine the right to abortion directly into the State Constitution so that the individual’s fundamental rights to abortion and contraception are protected. solidified. California for generations.
The heart of Proposition 1 is to ensure Californians have the right to decide when and how to have families, and to maintain intimate medical choices between families and health care teams about where to stay.
Abortion is health care, and like other health care decisions, these discussions should be based on science, not on political agendas. We provide tailored care. Abortion, along with the use or refusal of contraception, should remain in this lane rather than a government decision.
Proposition 1 would take existing California law and add it directly to the California Constitution, give abortion rights the best protection the state can offer, and allow courts to prevent laws that interfere with abortion and contraceptive rights to the greatest extent possible. to consider. A scrutiny of whether that right should be contested in the future.
Specifically, the ballot states, Proposition 1 would “amend the California Constitution to explicitly include individual rights to reproductive freedom, including the fundamental right to choose abortion and the fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.” This amendment does not narrow or limit existing rights to privacy and equal protection under the California Constitution.”
It’s important to dispel the notion that Proposition 1 will replace existing law, but it won’t. But what Proposition 1 does is guarantee abortion rights, like constitutional rights, and leave that regulation to the legislature. Opponents argue that if there are no special restrictions on abortion, it may be allowed until the end of the pregnancy, but this is not the case.
We often hear the term “survival rate” associated with abortion restrictions. But “viability” is more than just gestational age, and as a medical classification whose definition is in flux, it does not belong in the state constitution. The term includes multiple factors, including gestational age, but also incorporates genetic factors and medical decisions that are best left to providers and their patients.
More than two-thirds of voters didn’t want Roe overturned, according to a recent poll, and despite the overwhelming public opinion, the Supreme Court did just that. . We often hear that abortions are safe and protected in California, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last few months, it’s that we should never settle for access to reproductive health care. That’s exactly why you need suggestion 1.
Shannon Connolly, MD is a Family Physician practicing in Orange County. She is Associate of Primary Care Her Medical Her Director of Melody Health, the primary care division of family planning in Orange and San Bernardino counties.