With the Dobbs decision and the overturning of Roe, SCOTUS eliminated five decades of a U.S. constitutional right to abortion; and millions of people lost their right to bodily autonomy and privacy. In the U.S. about half of the states are expected to enact bans on abortion or more restrictive gestational limits on the procedure. Here in California, Prop. 1, if approved by the voters in the November election, will codify fundamental reproductive rights in its state Constitution. When women and those who can become pregnant can no longer make reproductive decisions for their own bodies, they are no longer equal individuals in our democracy. This harm will exacerbate societal inequalities and fall disproportionately on people of color and low-income communities already experiencing inequitable barriers and limited access to adequate health care services.
The League of Women Voters believes every US resident should have access to affordable, quality health care, including birth control and the privacy to make reproductive choices. As an ally of reproductive rights organizations, LWV knows when individuals have safe access to health care including abortion, they can make decisions that are best for their lives, and their families and communities thrive. Reproductive Justice is essential to our democracy.
We have invited four esteemed panelists who are reproductive experts with years of activism and advocacy experience to discuss one of the most pressing issues of the day!
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, represents the 74th Assembly District (Orange County Coast).
Shannon Olivieri Hovis, is the Director of NARAL.
Jessica Pinckney Gil, is the executive director of Access Reproduction Justice.
and Bethany Golden, is a Registered Nurse and a Certified Nurse Midwife.