Los Angeles, Hollywood, California, USA, July 9, 2022: Abortion-rights protest at Walk of Fame Hollywood. (Photo: behzad moloud, Shutterstock)
Proposition 1: California’s Abortion Measure is Illogical and Intentionally Vague
Women are already guaranteed access to abortion in California
By Elizabeth Manzanares, October 14, 2022 4:43 pm
Even though the United States Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade and made it a state’s decision, abortion is safe in California. However, Proposition 1, California’s Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom. Legislative Constitutional Amendment is so vague and hard to understand that it will put a woman’s right to choose in the court’s hands.
The current law in California is one of the most comprehensive in the country. Women are guaranteed access to abortion, and our current law protects women from maltreatment from doctors and healthcare providers. The current law is safe, responsible, and sensible.
California law allows for an abortion for any reason up until the third trimester. And it allows for abortion in the third trimester with a decision between a woman and her doctor. Prop 1 changes that.
Under Prop 1, the doctor is eliminated from the equation. It’s that straightforward. For 50 years, we have heard that the decision should be between a woman and her doctor. Now, at this critical time in our history, the doctor is erased from the picture by Prop 1. There is no language regarding when a woman can have an abortion, and the word “woman” is replaced with “individual.”
These 37 words would replace our current law and be put into the State Constitution:
The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives. – California Secretary of State Official Ballot Language
Even though the intention may be good, Proposition 1 lacks the accurate and necessary information to replace our current abortion laws.
With so much left for interpretation, there will surely be lawsuits, and it will end up back in the courts.
Can an “individual” have an abortion a day before birth? What if the father objects? Would his “individual fundamental rights” concerning “personal reproductive decisions” be violated?
Read California’s current abortion law and compare it to the 37-word Proposition 1 language.
Current California Law:
The Legislature finds and declares that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions. Accordingly, it is the public policy of the State of California that:
(a) Every individual has the fundamental right to choose or refuse birth control.
(b) Every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose and to obtain an abortion, except as specifically limited by this article.
(c) The state shall not deny or interfere with a woman’s fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose to obtain an abortion, except as specifically permitted by this article. – (California Health & Safety Code Section 123462) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=123462.&lawCode=HSC
The state may not deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman. – (Health and Safety Code 123466) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=123466
This is a dangerous proposition and all sensible people must Vote NO on it.
Below is an excerpt about Prop 1 from SusanShelley.com. She points out that EVEN THOSE who support access to abortion must Vote No because of Prop 1’s like unintended consequences. Read her column at the Daily News (linked at the end of the excerpt) for a fuller explanation.
“Proposition 1 – This is the measure put on the ballot by the legislature at the urging of the governor. They say it will “enshrine” abortion rights in the state constitution. This is not necessary to protect current law in California, and it’s written so carelessly that it actually creates a constitutional right to late-term abortion for any reason, no questions asked. It does this by overriding conflicting state laws – specifically the state laws that prohibit abortion after the point of fetal viability except to protect the life or health of the mother. Proposition 1 is a constitutional amendment. That’s why it overrides conflicting state laws. What will the reaction be nationally, in Congress and in the courts, to California’s decision to legalize abortion right up to the moment of birth? If you support abortion rights, consider that an unintended consequence of Proposition 1 could be a backlash across the country against abortion rights more generally. Vote NO on Proposition 1. Here’s my column on it: https://www.dailynews.com/2022/09/18/proposition-1-goes-too-far-and-risks-unintended-consequences-vote-no-susan-shelley/“
Serious firewall at the above link. Try this one instead if you want to read the column:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinion-proposition-1-goes-too-far-and-risks-unintended-consequences-vote-no-susan-shelley/ar-AA11YEpi
I agree, current Ca law serves the purpose we need it to. It protects a women’s right to a safe and legal abortion and does so in strait forward language. This new version is unnecessary. I’m voting no on the new proposal. .
I agree, current Ca law serves the purpose we need it to. It protects a women’s right to a safe and legal abortion and does so in strait forward language. This new version is unnecessary. I’m voting no on the new proposal!
Female babies don’t deserve to live and have no rights of any kind? Democrats are the ultimate misogynists.
It sure looks that way, doesn’t it, CW? Their blindness is stunning.
Has this author actually not READ the text of the proposal or is she purposely trying to do women a disservice by publishing nonsense meant to deceive other women? READ the text for yourselves, it makes NONE of the changes she discusses. Current law in CA would stay intact it IS just enshrined in the constitution.
Proposition 1 is misleadingly titled: “Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom.” This has nothing to do with “Reproductive Freedom” and everything to do with ending a life. Prop. 1 would provide an absolute right to abortion in the state constitution under any and all circumstances, including the hideous practice of partial birth abortion. Most people support early abortions but not late term. This proposition would prohibit such distinctions.
It’s on the ballot to bring the Dems to the polls… nothing else.
However, can THIS individual (cis-white-male-Republican-evil-doer) abort my kid if I want to? I am an individual…
JRC I think you are absolutely correct that this is on the ballot to increase (probably otherwise lackluster) Dem turnout in November.
Prop 1 is nothing less than legalizing infanticide. Those saying it merely “enshrines current state laws” are either ignorant or being willfully disingenuous. It’s right there in the text of the proposition: “The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions”. Adding this to the state’s constitution means all existing laws that restrict abortions in any way (inducing setting limits on when they can be preformed) will be instantly over turned. With this proposition, a woman will be able to kill her child for any reason right up to the point of birth (and maybe even a little bit afterwards) and suffer no legal consequences. Is this really what the majority of Californians want?
Why do they call it prochoice, shouldn’t it be called pro death, since you a choosing to kill a living baby? The choice should have been made before conception. And I love the way they call it women’s healthcare, like they will not be able to receive care from a doctor ever again. When a person stops another person’s heartbeat it’s called murder! Welcome to California the murder state, not golden any longer. Come to California where it’s OK to kill your baby in fact its encouraged. What a sad time in history!
Concur, vote NO on Prop 1.
But how can the author begin the article by proclaiming “The current law is safe, responsible, and sensible.”
The law is no way safe or moral for the slaughter of living, growing human beings from the womb!!