SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — As the U.S. Supreme Court considered ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which would give the states the ability to regulate abortions, California’s legislature advanced a measure that would enshrine access in the state constitution, but this was just the first step in a two-step process.
The second part requires a simple majority of voters to approve the measure, which would add the amendment to the state’s constitution.
The measure was originally known as Senate Constitutional Amendment 10, but will appear on the California ballot as Proposition 1.
SCA 10 was passed by the State Senate on June 20, before the U.S. Supreme Court announced its ruling on June 24. On June 27, the State Assembly passed the measure, allowing it to be added to the November ballot.
What is Proposition 1?
Proposition 1 would amend the California constitution so that it includes language that says that the state shall not get involved in a person’s decision to have an abortion or to choose or refuse contraceptives.
Abortions have been legal in California for many years through various state laws, so the amendment won’t necessarily change much about abortion services and won’t incur a financial cost for the state government, according to the Secretary of State.
The proposition would change the state’s founding document to include a line about a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom.
The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.
Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 10
What groups are in favor of Proposition 1 and what groups are opposed?
According to the California Official Voter Information Guide, the following are in favor of Proposition 1:
- Jodi Hicks, President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
- Carol Moon Goldbert, President of the League of Women Voters of California
- Shannon Udovic-Constant M.D., Board Chair of the California Medical Association
The following are opposed to Proposition 1, according to the voter guide:
- Dr. Anne Marie Adams, a gynecologist from the California Birth Center
- Tak Allen, President of the International Faith Based Coalition
- Assemblymember Jim Patterson, R-Fresno
