With Assembly Approval, Constitutional Amendment on Abortion, Reproductive Rights Moves to November Ballot

Jun 27, 2022
Contact: 
Sulema Landa, Sulema.Landa@asm.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – California Legislative Women’s Caucus Chair Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Vice Chair Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) celebrated the California State Assembly’s passage today of Senate Constitutional Amendment 10 by President pro Tempore Toni Atkins. SCA 10, which will enshrine the right to abortion and contraception in the California Constitution, now goes to the November 2022 statewide ballot.

“With the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, it is vital that we in California protect an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to an abortion and contraception. We commend Pro Tem Atkins for leading on this issue,” said Assemblywoman Garcia and Senator Skinner. 

“The Women’s Caucus welcomes this step toward guaranteed bodily autonomy, regardless of social economic status, and is confident that the voters of California will ensure that the right to an abortion is given state constitutional protection this November.”

On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists. This marks the first time the court has revoked a constitutional right in U.S. history.

More than half of the states have laws on the books that criminalize or otherwise restrict abortion, and all these laws now have the greenlight as a result of the SCOTUS decision.

Assemblymember Garcia, Senator Skinner, and other members of the Women’s Caucus have authored a package of bills addressing the nationwide threat to women’s reproductive rights in accordance with recommendations from the Future of Abortion Council. The Women’s Caucus has listed all 14 of these bills as a priority for 2022.

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