‘Having babies is at the heart of reproductive health care!’
VOTA NO en el Proyecto de Ley 0 de San Francisco el 5 de Noviembre
“El tener bebes es la esencia del cuidado de salud reproductivo”
By Valerie Schmalz
Why would anyone want to stigmatize a primary health care facility and a pregnancy resource center, two state-licensed health clinics that give pregnant women support for having their babies?
Proposition O, placed on the Nov. 5 San Francisco ballot by Mayor London Breed with the title “Reproductive Freedom Act,” would do just that. Together with our partners, we urge a No Vote on Proposition O.
By requiring signage that would single out these state-licensed health care clinics, which it terms “limited services pregnancy organizations”, Proposition O would endanger their employees, volunteers, patients and clients. Further, from the standpoint of unlimited access to and protection of abortion, Proposition O is an unnecessary measure as California is already a “sanctuary state” for abortion. In 2022, California voters approved a state constitutional amendment that allows abortion until birth.
Under the “Reproductive Freedom Act” or Proposition O, taxpayer funds would be used to install signage outside life-affirming healthcare and pregnancy support centers, singling them out as facilities that refuse to perform abortions and potentially opening them up to abusive behavior by opponents. This flies in the face of the measure’s language “People in San Francisco should always be able to access reproductive healthcare services free from coercion, threat, violence or fear.” Having babies is at the heart of reproductive health care!
Mayor London Breed is using San Francisco taxpayer funds to pay for security guards outside the city’s Planned Parenthood clinic on Bush Street and plans to continue that funding going forward. Apparently, under the rationale of those who wrote Proposition O, only those who choose abortion deserve protection from those who might attack them for their reproductive health choices.
Why doesn’t Proposition O require the city to install signage outside facilities that do abortions to direct women to places where they will be supported in giving birth? Do the proposition’s authors truly believe in choice?
In a press conference announcing her ballot proposition, the “Reproductive Freedom Act”, held at Planned Parenthood in San Francisco, Mayor Breed specifically singled out the two life-affirming state-licensed clinics that provide support for pregnant women but do not offer or refer for abortion.
Both organizations targeted by Proposition O help women, children, and the entire family without regard to their ability to pay. Both are state-licensed medical facilities.
If we want to create a civil society, we must affirm across the board support for human life. That means alternatives to abortion and euthanasia, repealing the death penalty, and working to end all racial and ethnic discrimination. We urge a No Vote on Proposition O.
VOTE NO to protect CHOICE for pregnant women, mothers, and families!
To join our efforts to defeat San Francisco Proposition O, check out the website: www.no-on-o.com and contact us at lifeanddignity@sfarch.org
Valerie Schmalz is director of the Office of Human Life & Dignity.
