Pro-life advocates are urging Catholics and others who oppose an expansion of abortion services to contact their state Senators and urge a “no” vote after legislation to that effect was passed by the state Assembly on May 28.AB 154, supported by Planned Parenthood, would allow entry level professionals, such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwives, to practice first-trimester aspiration abortions and would re-classify abortion as non-surgical. A similar bill failed to pass in 2012 due to lack of a professional study that could support the proposal. AB 980 would reclassify abortion clinics as primary care clinics, relieving them of standard building requirements for medical clinics.The Assembly approved AB 154 by 48-24, and AB 980 47-21, after the Assembly Appropriations Committee had passed the companion bills May 24, each by a 12-5 vote. The legislation now moves to the Senate. The California Catholic Conference and diocesan pro-life leaders are opposed to both, and encourage Catholics to contact their state senators to express their views. “We know that abortion produces lasting scars in women,” said kathleen-domingo, Life Coordinator in the Office of Life, Justice and Peace for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “We know women who feel supported and nurtured do not choose abortion. We also know that young women and poor women are targeted by abortion providers and often coerced into having abortions when they have nowhere else to turn. Access to abortion is not the problem.”Domingo encourages those opposed to expanding abortion services to “join us in standing for women’s health and safety” by contacting their state senators “and urging them to see through the political rhetoric to put the health and safety of women first.”To find your Senator’s contact information, visit http://senate.ca.gov/senators. For additional information, see http://capwiz.com/cacatholic/issues/alert/?alertid=62672731.{gallery width=100 height=100}gallery/2013/0531/ab154/{/gallery}
