Abortion amendment moving quickly in California legislature
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Fearing the U.S. Supreme Court will soon overturn Roe v. Wade, California Democrats on Tuesday moved quickly to ensure the state's progressive voters have a chance this fall to make abortion a constitutional right in the nation's most populous state.
A proposed amendment to the California Constitution that would explicitly ban the state from denying or interfering with abortions or contraceptives cleared two legislative committees in a single day on Tuesday, an unusually fast pace for a Legislature that many times takes two years to move a bill through its arduous process.
Lawmakers are moving so fast because they need voters to approve the amendment before it can become law. The soonest voters could do that is November, but for that to happen the amendment must clear the state Legislature by a two-thirds vote before the end of the month.
If it does make it to the ballot this year, it has a good chance of passing. Among likely voters, 76% oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an April survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
“California needs to act now — this year, not next year, now — to make crystal clear that we value reproductive choice," said Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who voted for the amendment Tuesday.
The amendment says the state “shall not deny or interfere” with people's “fundamental right to choose" to have abortions. Opponents warned that wording was so broad that it would permit abortions even after the viability of a fetus, which California currently only allows if the life or health of the mother is in danger.
“This constitutional amendment as written will legalize and protect abortion up to the point just prior to delivery,” said Kathleen Domingo, executive director of the California...
