Nicolle Generaux | Newsroom Manager
October 7, 2022
The right to an abortion is one thing. The right to an abortion up until the moment of birth for any reason is quite another.
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court in June, 2022, California’s political leadership quickly drafted Proposition 1, something that would, if passed in November of 2022, be implemented into the California State Constitution.
The proposition asks voters to decide if the state’s Constitution should prohibit the government from denying or interfering with a woman’s reproductive rights and their choices, including abortion and contraceptives. However, it also legalizes abortion through the end of pregnancy.
According to these political leaders, the passing of this proposition is necessary to guarantee a women’s right to an abortion. Due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, they argue, the right to an abortion is under attack, and the state governments have to act quickly before it is taken away. California Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis comments “we have to fight back, we have to push back.”
The odd thing is that the reproductive rights of women have been clearly recognized under the California Constitution since 1969, four years before Roe v. Wade was decided by the US Supreme Court.
Under present California law, any female of any age can get an abortion for any reason up to six months of pregnancy (the 24th week) – and if the pregnancy puts the mother’s health or life at risk past the 6 months, abortion continues to be legal through the date of birth.
In light of this, it does bring up the question as to why California politicians are pushing this proposition so hard so quickly – any argument to say that the right was “under attack” is feeble, since realistically there is no way the ability to have an abortion will be taken away, considering the California Constitution currently does and has since 1969 recognized such a right.
Curiously, many liberal-leaning news outlets and websites also fail to mention that the proposition will legalize abortion for any reason up to the moment of birth.
According to a 2022 Pew Research Center study, while 85% of American voters think abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances, only 22% of those voters believe that abortion should be legal without exceptions up to 24 weeks. That is only 6 months. The proposition extends it by three additional months.
“Although I do agree that the Constitution of California should grant everyone the right to an abortion, legalizing it up the moment of birth is excessive,” junior Jordyn Banks said.
At what point do we draw the line? At one point does abortion become more than just a women’s reproductive rights issue? In retrospect, if a fetus is only an embryo or barely developed, it is more than understandable to legalize abortion. Even up to six months, when the fetus can hear, feel pain and see light, 22% of voters believe that abortion should be legal.
But when the fetus is fully developed – and it can survive if taken out of the mother at that point in time, I believe the California legislature is going to have a hard time justifying abortion to anyone with a moral compass without labeling it murder. This proposition would allow abortion up until birth for any reason. How can we, the American people, a population claiming to be justice-seeking, empathetic and moral, even consider passing this? And why wouldn’t the news be more overt about this detail? It is definitely more controversial than just obtaining the right to an abortion. Why is it being hidden?
It appears that the Proposition is a bait and switch – while the politicians claim that it is for the right to an abortion, it slips in the controversial idea of abortion up until the moment of birth. They advertise a popular belief to conceal an immoral, and very controversial law.
“People can believe what they want to believe about abortion, but they should know exactly what they are supporting,” remarks junior Sophie Rapeepat, “and it is the media’s responsibility to educate them.”
This detail in the proposition, that is conveniently not advertised in democratic websites such as Legislative Analyst’s Office, Cal Matters, and ABC News, is extreme and unnecessary. Read the proposition for yourself at https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2022/general/pdf/topl1.pdf.
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