With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
How California Created The Nation’s Easiest Abortion Access — And Why It’s Poised To Go Further With Roe Under Threat
Demonstrators gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, a case about a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, on December 1, 2021.
(
Chip Somodevilla
/
Getty Images
)
Living in a “post-Roe world” is no longer a phrase bandied about by abortion rights activists to describe a worst-case scenario. It’s reality.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade June 24, eliminating the constitutional right to obtain an abortion that has stood for nearly five decades. A leaked opinion draft signaled an end to federal protections in May had already spurred on a push by Gov. Gavin Newsom and many state Democrats to make the state a “sanctuary” for people seeking abortions.
The court’s decision is a win for conservatives who have steadily chipped away at abortion rights nationally through lawsuits and legislation. A cascade of abortion bans were triggered in 18 states when the decision landed, and dozens of other state legislatures are considering 15-week bans, abortion pill bans and bans modeled after Texas’ controversial law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps someone obtain an abortion after six weeks.
California has firmly bucked the trend. A constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from denying or interfering with abortions is well on its way to the November ballot, where voters will decide on the measure. And a package of 13 bills aimed at removing barriers and protecting patients by strengthening privacy protections, ensuring providers and patients cannot be sued or prosecuted and funding procedures and travel costs has sailed through the Legislature with little opposition.
Sponsored message
But California wasn’t always a bastion for reproductive rights. It took decades of black market abortions, a national rubella epidemic, an international drug scandal, several high-profile trials against physicians, and thousands of maternal deaths for California to decriminalize abortion. In fact, abortion remained illegal in the state until 1967, when then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the Therapeutic Abortion Act.
In the ensuing years, California has garnered the distinction of being the state that goes furthest to allow easy access to abortion. So how did we get here?
Sponsored message
Sponsored message
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
