State Awards Nearly $8 Million For Better Security At Abortion Facilities

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that nearly $8 million in grants would be awarded to advance security at 21 abortion and reproductive health facilities.

Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was passed in the U.S. Supreme Court last year, states across the U.S. have been fluctuating on abortion legality. Some states have all but outright banned the practice, while others, such as California, have expanded abortion legality, becoming abortion sanctuary states. For California, this has included subsidizing abortions, creating incentives for people out of state to travel to California for abortions, and attempting to remove state contracts from pharmacies for removing abortion pill access in states that outlawed the pills. Last month, the state also announced that they created a stockpile of 2 million Misoprostol abortion pills following a court ruling that paused the legality of the similar drug  Mifepristone.

The latest measure, known as the Physical and Digital Infrastructure Security Grant Program is to be administered by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) in coordination with the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). Under the program, $7,879,108 will be awarded to 21 abortion and reproductive health facilities across the state to fund security enhancements, especially those that have encountered large protests and vandalism. While independent facilities are included under the program, Planned Parenthood locations are also covered.

“All health care providers deserve to feel safe while offering resources and services to patients” said Governor Newsom in a statement. “As attacks on reproductive health care continue, we’re providing resources to help ensure patients and providers feel safe and secure while accessing or providing critical reproductive health care.”

Cal OES Director Nancy Ward added that “This funding represents a key part of our responsibility to protect Californians from violence. By providing security at vulnerable healthcare locations, we can help protect everyone involved, from providers, to patients, and the surrounding community.”

While the additional security funding was applauded by many groups in favor of abortion rights, many others said that the money could have gone elsewhere, citing that the state is facing a $22.5 billion budget deficit.

“Groups like Planned Parenthood already receive tens of millions through state funding each year, with a lot of that coming from Medi-Cal reimbursements,” said Sarah Gomes, a state budget researcher. “Looking beyond morality or where you stand on abortion, the added costs are worrying. Compared to that $22.5 billion, $8 million isn’t all that much. But the groups are already getting so much back from the state, and when divided up, it comes to less than $500,000 each for these improvements. With all what they’re getting, you would think that they could already afford it on their own without more state-funding.”

“Grant programs like this one are going to be more and more scrutinized going forward. California still acts like it can just keep spending, but they have a huge deficit and their tax base has gone down a tiny bit. They can’t afford this. Or, if they wanted to, they should rework the budget to find room for it. But they aren’t even doing that. This is very worrying.”

Other budgetary concerns and grants are expected to come up in the coming weeks as the budget deadline approaches.