Soon, all of California’s publicly-funded universities could be required to fully stock their health centers with abortion pills.
After passing the state Senate in January, a bill requiring California’s universities to offer students abortion pills has now passed a state legislative committee, putting it one step closer to an Assembly vote.
Sponsored by Democratic State Sen. Connie Leyva, State Senate Bill 320 will “require California public universities and community colleges to provide abortions drugs up to 10 weeks of pregnancy at their student health centers,” reports LifeNews.
The bill will also require the state universities to offer students coverage for abortion costs in their health insurance plans. Should the bill pass the next several committees before it reaches the Assembly, it will go into effect come 2020.
Pro-lifers have begun sounding the alarm over the harm such a bill will bring to young students. Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, says the bill will transform student health centers into merchants of death.
“This push to reconfigure the life-saving, health affirming purpose of school health centers into abortion vendors goes against the mission of the medical centers and exposes women and the schools to great risk,” Hawkins said. “We know that women have died taking such drugs, a danger and liability that the school health centers are not prepared to confront. …”
Of course, supporters of the bill say it will give women easier access to abortions.
“We live in California, (which) is very friendly towards abortion … but the reality is accessibility is much more of an issue,” said Adiba Khan, a Students United for Reproductive Justice leader. “Even if people have a right to it, they might still have problems with access.”
Should the bill become law, California will become the first state to force universities to provide abortions, which abortion enthusiasts want to become “a model across the country, for every state.“