The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved the Women's Health Care Privacy and Reproductive Freedom Action Plan, which will award $1 million to the organization Planned Parenthood Mar Monte to promote women's reproductive rights.
The fund will allow for expanded abortion care; create a buffer zone ordinance for unincorporated areas of the county; develop an advocacy agenda; establish the Reproductive Rights and Health Care Privacy Subcommittee to include Supervisors Pine and Slocum; and launch an information campaign to let patients know that San Mateo County Health continues to offer reproductive services.
The Action Plan was developed in conjunction with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM), which serves residents of Northern California, including San Mateo County.
PPMM has three clinics in San Mateo County that provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, gender-affirming care, behavioral health, and family medicine services, serving approximately 13,000 area residents annually.
“With the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, San Mateo County and California as a whole must prepare for the inevitable surge of women seeking care here that will not be available to them anywhere else in the nation,” said Supervisor Dave Pino.
According to a report published in October 2021 by the Guttmacher Institute, if Roe v. Wade is overturned or destroyed, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion.
The actions of those states would increase the number of out-of-state patients seeking abortion services in California from 46,000 to 1.4 million, an increase of nearly 3,000 percent.
Between July 2021 and May 2022, PPMM provided abortion care to 87 out-of-state patients. Those services were provided to 5 patients at PPMM clinics in San Mateo County.
“We are at a precipice and the time to act is now. These financial investments in Planned Parenthood Monte Mar will allow more women to make decisions about their bodies, particularly those who live in states that prohibit abortion. What we have done today is monumental in this effort,” said Supervisor Warren Slocum at the time.
The financial investment includes one million dollars allocated in two parts. The first includes 549,312 dollars to support the purchase of technology and equipment by PPMM to allow for greater patient capacity in its clinics.
The second tranche of funding will be up to $450,688, which will be held in reserve for use as needs arise.
To provide additional access to services, a proposed buffer zone ordinance for unincorporated San Mateo County clinics that protects patients and employees from harassment, intimidation, and obstruction when accessing a PPMM clinic will be presented to the Board of Supervisors at the June 28 meeting.
Additionally, a women's reproductive freedom and healthcare privacy advocacy agenda will be developed in coordination with the Commission on the Status of Women, the County Attorney's Office, County staff, and the Board subcommittee to develop a proposed advocacy agenda for consideration at the August 2, 2022 meeting.
Finally, the county will conduct an information campaign to let patients know that San Mateo County Health continues to offer reproductive services.
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