Equal Rights Advocates Applauds CA State Assembly for Voting in Favor of Constitutional Amendment for Reproductive Freedom, Urges Other States to Take Action

June 27. 2022

For Immediate Release
Jun 27, 2022

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Jess Eagle
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Statement by Jessica Ramey Stender, Policy Director and Deputy Legal Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), which fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country.

June 27, 2022 — Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) applauds the California State Assembly for voting to pass SCA 10, which puts a state constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom, including the right to an abortion, on the November ballot.  We further commend Gov. Newsom’s announcement of a robust $125 million reproductive health package that will expand access to vital reproductive health services and welcome companies from anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ states. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade striking down the federal right to an abortion, state and federal leaders must take swift action to enact similar protections and preserve access to this fundamental piece of reproductive healthcare.

Even in California, where abortion rights are protected by a right to privacy in the state constitution, there are still barriers to abortion access, particularly based on geography, race, and income level. These disparities, which will be exacerbated now that Roe is overturned, indicate the need for explicit, constitutional protections that guarantee abortion access for every woman or person that needs one, and increased investments to expand access to reproductive healthcare in the state.

Without Roe, women in a number of states experiencing unintended or unwanted pregnancies will be forced to carry to term and give birth against their will. They will endure pregnancy and motherhood in a country with the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, a lack of paid family leave or access to affordable child care, and extreme income inequality. Abortion bans will disproportionately harm poor women and others who lack full access to preventative reproductive health care.

The Supreme Court has abdicated its responsibility to follow precedent and protect our rights and liberties, so we must use all methods at our disposal to ensure that women have access to safe and legal abortions. Now that trigger laws banning abortions are already taking effect, it is even more critical to affirm the right to abortion in as many state constitutions as possible and make robust investments to ensure access to reproductive healthcare wherever we can. ERA applauds and stands with legislative leaders across the country in the fight to protect our rights.

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About Equal Rights Advocates

Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, they have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.