Assembly Bill (AB) 775, the “Reproductive FACT Act,” which had its second reading in the Assembly last week, faces one final hurdle this week before advancing to the state Senate. That hurdle could be eclipsed shortly when the bill could receive its third reading in the Assembly. If that happens California Family Alliance, and our coalition of like-minded pro-life groups, will intensify our efforts in the Senate.
In presenting AB 775 to one of the Assembly committees a few weeks ago, its author David Chiu (D-San Francisco) argued that its sole purpose is to provide information to women in crisis pregnancies. In reality, the bill was written by the California affiliate of NARAL (the National Abortion Rights Action League). Chiu and his cohorts specifically crafted AB 775 to muzzle any efforts that challenge the pro-abortion money machine, prompting some opponents of the measure to label it the “bully bill.”
The irony is that state officials are anything but transparent when it comes to facts surrounding abortion. California, for instance, is one of only a few states that withhold abortions statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, the national agency that compiles annual reports on the number of cases. Also unavailable are the number of cases in which a patient needs emergency treatment as a result of abortion services at Golden State clinics. Most of these cases only come to light through subsequent lawsuits.
As Jay Hobbs, the director of communications and marketing for Heartbeat International so succinctly stated in a commentary about the bill, “no woman has ever died in a pregnancy help organization.”
Please consider using this fact when contacting your elected officials about AB 775. It is also appropriate to ask them what other private organization has been compelled to offer free advertising for a competing enterprise. Perhaps candidates should also be compelled to provide information on their opponents during an election.
To contact your legislator, use this link. If you are not sure who your representative is, click here.
We also continue to keep a watchful eye on Senate Bill (SB) 128 (Wolk-Vacaville), the legislation that would legalize assisted suicide. As we reported last week, the bill has been moved to the Senate Appropriation’s suspense file until lawmakers have a clearer picture on the budget scenario. It could, however, be resurrected at any time, so now is the perfect time to begin contacting your representatives on that measure.
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Our CEO Jonathan Keller also recorded a video update on SB 128. Be sure to visit California Family Council’s YouTube channel for his regular video updates from Sacramento.
As with all other bills, all legislation must be passed out of their respective chambers by June 5 or they will be dead for the year. The clock is ticking…
LifeNews Note: Lori Arnold writes for the California Family Council.
