Dispute over US law: In California, abortions remain legal

Abortion could soon become illegal in many US states. California has taken a stand against it: preparing for the fact that more women will come there for legal abortions.

It’s a remarkable moment in US history, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference at Planned Parenthood’s Los Angeles headquarters.

The organization offers various services in the field of sexual medicine, such as advice on contraception and abortion. “While liberties are being expanded in other countries, the United States is in the process of restricting rights again,” said the governor.

Abortions could become illegal

Newsom, like many other members of the Democrats, stands behind the abortion right enshrined in the US Constitution since 1973, popularly known as “Roe vs. Wade”.

The ruling from the 1970s could now be overturned by the mostly conservative panel in the US Supreme Court. This could make abortions illegal in many US states.

And maybe not only that, warns California’s governor: “Do you think for a second that same-sex marriage is safe in the United States? There’s a senator who wants even marriages between whites and blacks to be reviewed by the Supreme Court!”

Governor wants to enshrine law in constitution

Abortion is legal in California. A change in the US Constitution would not change that. On the contrary: Newsom wants to enshrine the right to a safe abortion in the state constitution in November. California should be a safe haven, stresses the Democrats.

Nothing has been decided yet, but thousands of people have already taken to the streets in Los Angeles and San Francisco to protest. California had legalized abortion in 1967, six years before the Supreme Court ruled.

“Travel Fund” for abortion in California

California wants to continue to stand for “Freedom of Choice”. Many women are expected to come to the West Coast state to have legal abortions, UCLA law professor Cary Franklin told NPR radio. This has been the case since Texas made abortions more difficult.

“We are already seeing many thousands more people coming. And according to forecasts, there will be tens of thousands more. That will put a strain on the providers and the infrastructure here, but they are preparing for it,” says the law professor. Experts assume an increase in California alone from 46,000 patients to 1.4 million.

Not everyone can afford to travel and stay. There are already ideas for this in California. Berkeley politician Nancy Skinner has introduced a bill that would create, for example, a kind of “travel fund” to pay for airfare, gas, lodging and meals for women who have abortions in California.