Press Release: Future of Abortion Access in California Campaign Launch on 47th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
January 22, 2020
Planned Parenthood Launches Future of Abortion Access in California Campaign on 47th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Planned Parenthood, Legislative Champions, and Reproductive Health Care Allies Announced Legislative Package that Will Further Expand Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
[SACRAMENTO, CA] —Today, on the 47th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, reproductive freedom champions and supporters came together at the State Capitol for a press conference to launch the Future of Abortion Access in California campaign and announce Planned Parenthood’s 2020 legislative package.
Already in California, Planned Parenthood provides care to nearly a quarter-million patients, including patients from every other state and even multiple counties, in more than 100 health centers. The Future of Abortion Access in California campaign is centered on continuing that care and the importance to expand access to care on a local and statewide level, both in response to the unmet health care needs in California and the shifting federal landscape.
“Even though California has taken significant steps to expand, not ban, access to sexual and reproductive health care, we as a state still have an opportunity, and an obligation, to stand strong and be bold in supporting access to the full scope of sexual and reproductive health care,” said Jodi Hicks, President/ CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC). “The Future of Abortion Access in California is Planned Parenthood’s campaign that seeks to answer the question ‘what more can California do?’”
Planned Parenthood’s 2020 Legislative package is a significant part of the campaign and is driven by the goal to break down barriers to care, such as the inequities within reproductive health care insurance costs and the threat to personal safety and wellbeing protestors pose to patients outside of health centers.
At the press conference, Hicks was joined by the authors of the Planned Parenthood sponsored legislation and coalition partners co-sponsoring the bills. The four pieces of legislation aim to:
- Expand access to abortion by eliminating insurance copays and deductibles
- Improve access to preventive services for cervical cancer
- Strengthen and modernize security measures for reproductive health centers
- Protect the confidentiality of patients accessing sexual and reproductive health care services
Bill authors Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assemblymembers Sydney Kamlager, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry were in attendance, along with members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, including Caucus Chair Senator Leyva and Co-Chair Monique Limón. Coalition members co-sponsoring the legislation include Black Women for Wellness Action Project, California Medical Association, National Health Law Program, NARAL Pro-Choice California, Essential Access Health and ACT for Women and Girls.
The announcement of the 2020 legislative package is just the beginning of the Future of Abortion Access in California campaign. Throughout the year and throughout the state, Planned Parenthood will continue to push these issues to the forefront of conversations at the statewide and local affiliate level.
“The Future of Abortion Access in California campaign, of which the 2020 legislative package is a significant part of, is grounded in breaking down medically unnecessary barriers to care to ensure that people in California have access to essential health care, including abortion, no matter what,” continued Hicks. “We thank the authors and coalition partners that are instrumental in ensuring California continues to expand, not ban, access to care.”
The campaign was launched on the 47th Roe v. Wade anniversary, a significant day in a time when access to abortion is under the worst attacks since the landmark court decision.
While Roe v. Wade guaranteed the right to abortion, this year a conservative-majority Supreme Court will review a case that could decide the future of abortion access across the country. Their decision could pave the way for states to make abortion inaccessible for more than 25 million people of reproductive age, even as states are already working to rollback access to care. In 2019 alone, more than 300 bills restricting abortion were introduced by extremist politicians, all aimed at eliminating access to safe, legal abortion and stripping away reproductive freedom.
Note: Quotes from bill authors available upon request.
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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is the state public policy office representing California’s seven separately incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates. Through advocacy and electoral action, PPAC promotes sound public policy in areas of reproductive and preventive health care, family planning and comprehensive sexual health education.