Sacramento – In response to conservative South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham’s introduction of a federal ban on abortion, Yes on Proposition 1 co-chairs Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California President and CEO Jodi Hicks issued the following statement:
“News of Senator Graham’s federal abortion ban, while despicable, comes as no surprise. This is nothing other than a desperate power grab to outlaw abortion in states like California, that stand strong in our convictions to offer safe and reproductive health care to those who need it most. California will not be bullied by right wing extremists looking to chip away at our fundamental rights. That’s why we’ve joined together to enshrine abortion rights into the California Constitution with Proposition 1 this fall. Now more than ever, we must show the rest of the country that we cannot go backward, that we must affirm abortion rights and we must protect the most vulnerable among us.”
Proposition 1 will explicitly add the right to an abortion to the California State Constitution. The measure is consistent with existing state rights to privacy and equal protection and would ensure that regardless of who or what party controls the government or the courts in the future, a person’s right to an abortion is protected in California.
