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San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the San Francisco Reproductive Freedom Act, a new ballot measure that, if passed in November, will ensure that the reproductive rights and freedoms of women in the city remain protected.
Together with supervisors Catherine Stefani, Myrna Melgar and Hillary Ronen, as well as leaders and defenders of reproductive rights in Planned Parenthood of Northern California, the mayor detailed that the measure proposes to enact a variety of protections for women seeking abortion services and reproductive care in San Francisco.
The above, including ensuring that information is not shared with jurisdictions outside of California where it could be used to prosecute a patient or reproductive health care provider.
And since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, abortion has been banned in 14 states and there are significant restrictions in seven others.
“This ballot measure guarantees access to reproductive services and abortions for women in our city, but also sends a clear message to the entire country that San Francisco remains a leader in supporting reproductive rights and we will not tolerate any level of disruption,” Breed said at the time.
The mayor stressed that "it is unthinkable that there are forces that prevent a woman from making decisions about her own body. We have been on the right side of history before and now, more than ever, we will work harder to take back what was taken from us and preserve what we know is a fundamental value in this country.
If approved. The San Francisco Reproductive Freedom Protection Act will strengthen long-standing access to abortion and reproductive services and establish new requirements, including making it official policy of the city and county of San Francisco to safeguard comprehensive reproductive freedom. through a series of statements.
It will also require that public information be provided on where people can access reproductive health services; prohibit the use of city funds to cooperate or provide information to support the processing of an abortion or reproductive health service that is legal in California; and will limit City funds from going to any reproductive health center that does not provide or refer comprehensive reproductive health service.
Likewise, it will require signage at crisis pregnancy centers that tells people which places do not provide comprehensive reproductive health care and where they can get information about places that do.
The bill would also establish a fund into which both private and city money (if later appropriated) could go to help people access reproductive health care; and would amend the Planning Code to clarify that reproductive health clinics are a permitted use as long as non-residential uses are permitted.
San Francisco has six public health centers that perform more than 1,200 abortions each year. Since the Dobbs decision, California has seen an increase in abortion procedures.
In May 2022, before the fall of Roe v. Wade, California reported 13,680 abortions. In May 2023 alone, abortions in the state increased to 15,550. In March 2023, 16,000 abortions were performed in the state.
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California reported that medication abortions performed at its clinics increased 18 percent statewide from June 2022 to June 2023.
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