Sacramento – 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 as Co-Chairs of the Yes on Prop 1 campaign, following the resounding defeat of an abortion ban ballot measure in Kansas tonight:
“Voters have spoken loud and clear with the rejection of a ballot measure that would have allowed extreme politicians to ban abortion in Kansas and left millions in the plain states without access to critical reproductive health care. It is imperative that we keep the momentum going in California with a decisive passage of Prop 1, which will add the right to abortion and contraception directly to our State Constitution. Tonight’s victory shows that voters, regardless of party affiliation, support preserving access to abortion and believe that those decisions should remain between a person and their health care provider. We are inspired and motivated by what advocates and voters have done in Kansas and look forward to moving the fight forward in California with Prop 1.”
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.
