Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary

As we continue to take precautions to manage ongoing COVID-19 risk, the Senate continues to welcome the public to our hearings and has provided access to both in-person and teleconference participation for public comment. For all individuals who wish to provide public comment, the participate toll-free number and access code posted on our committee website will be displayed on the screen, and I will announce it now. Today's participant number is 877-226-8163, and the access code is 736-2834.

For detailed instructions on how the teleconference system works, please refer the Senate and Judiciary Committee websites. I will maintain decorum during the hearing as is customary. Any individual who is disruptive may be removed from the remote meeting service or have their connections muted.

We are holding our committee hearings here in O Street Building, also known as Swing Space. I asked all Members of the committee to come to Room 1200 so we can establish a quorum and begin our hearing. All right, so I'm going to welcome back returning Members.

Senator Wilk. Thank you very much. Vice Chair Wilk.

Thank you. We look forward to a productive year. Also, Senators Allen, Ashby, Min, and Niello.

We welcome all of you to the committee. With that, if we could call the role for purposes of establishing a quorum?

[Roll Call]

You have a quorum.

All right. Thank you. Well, I hope this basically sets the norm for committee hearings.

All of us are here in a timely fashion. That's fantastic. Before we begin with the resolution presentation, we need to adopt committee rules without objection.

The committee rules are adopted, seeing no objection. As a reminder, for each resolution, we allow two witnesses per side and each witness is permitted two minutes to testify. We allow a total of 15 minutes per side for the me-two witnesses on the phone lines.

Me-two witnesses: those are those who simply state their name, their affiliation, and their position. Senator Skinner is here. I see.

Senator Skinner, do you accept the amendments as proposed in the analysis on page eight, comment number four? Yes, you do. Thank you very much.

All right, go ahead. Senator Skinner, floor is yours.

Thank you-

Thank you very much. Members, in less than a week, on January 22, is the 50th anniversary of this Supreme Court's ruling in the Roe v. Wade case, which made abortion legal across the US.

This 50th anniversary will be less about celebration due to the Dobbs versus Jackson decision that came down last June, which reversed Roe v. Wade and has now put the bodily autonomy of every person who has the capacity to become pregnant at risk across the country. Now, our good voters in California passed a proposition last year to protect us and put it in the Constitution that we had the right to an abortion and to birth control.

However, there are already 19 states that have enacted full or partial abortion bans, and there are other states actively considering such actions. We know that this will not stop abortions. While I rarely have ever brought up a recommendation to watch a documentary, when I present a resolution, I would recommend that any of you who have not seen it see the HBO documentary called "The Janes."

It is about some women in Chicago who, before the Roe v. Wade anniversary, arranged for abortions for women in Chicago. And they did that - and they did that because they had friends and people that they knew who were either gravely injured or died as a result of either a self-inflicted abortion or an abortion by a less-than-ethical practitioner. What the data shows is that there were at least a million abortions a year before Roe v. Wade was made legal.

Made it legal. And think of the population was much smaller at that point. And over that 1 million a year, about thousands of women died and many others were gravely injured and even had the inability to procreate afterwards.

Women of color were disproportionately at risk because contraception was very difficult to get. And so not only was abortion illegal, contraception was also extremely limited. So what this resolution before you does is marks the important anniversary, 50th anniversary of that Supreme Court decision and the importance of reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for those of us who can get pregnant.

The resolution before you is sponsored by Black Women for Wellness, NARAL, and Planned Parenthood affiliates of California. And to speak in my witnesses and support are Shannon Hovis of NARAL and Molly Robison of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

Ms. Hovis, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Shannon Olivieri Hovis, and I'm the Director of NARAL Pro-choice California. NARAL fights for reproductive freedom for everybody, powered by our 4 million members nationally and more than 370,000 members here in California.

And We are proud to sponsor Senate Resolution 9 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. On what should have been the 50th anniversary of recognizing the constitutional right to abortion, we are instead witnessing the devastating impacts of the Supreme Court's decision to strip Americans of this fundamental freedom. Currently, 17 states are enforcing bans on abortion, with several others trying to enforce or pass abortion bans.

And we are seeing the catastrophic consequences on real people's lives. These bans intimidate doctors and hospitals, stop them from providing critical care like miscarriage management, and put pregnant people's lives and health in danger. And the threats don't end there.

House Republicans have made restricting abortion their top priority. But let me be clear: there is no place in the country where bans on abortion are popular. In fact, in all six states where abortion rights were specifically on the ballot last year, Americans voted to protect access to abortion care.

Thanks to your leadership and the leadership of the Women's Caucus here in California, we are fighting to protect this fundamental right to abortion. And we made history last year by passing the most comprehensive and bold legislative package advancing abortion access in the country. I am five months pregnant, and I frequently think about the terror that I would feel if I lived in a state that has enacted a ban on abortion for fear that if something went wrong, I would be unable to access the essential health care that I needed to protect my life and ensure that my daughter has a mother to come home to.

NARAL will never stop fighting for a world where all of us have the freedom to make our own decisions about whether to start or grow a family. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to ensuring that California leads as a reproductive freedom state. And thank you for introducing this measure, Senator Skinner. I urge your aye vote on SR 9. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Hovis. Ms. Robson.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. My name is Molly Robson. I'm the Legislative Director for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, representing over 100 health centers or the seven affiliates who operate over 100 health centers in the state. I also want to thank Senator Skinner and Pro Tem Atkins for their leadership authoring this resolution to honor the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Of course, this year's anniversary is different.

Last summer, when the US. Supreme Court overturned the protections granted in Roe v. Wade in their ruling on Dobbs versus Jackson's whole woman's health; the right to abortion was left up to individual states.

As you've heard, 17 states now have full or partial bans on abortion, impacting millions of people who can become pregnant and forcing patients to face extreme barriers just to access health care. Planned Parenthood health centers and abortion providers across California have seen a dramatic increase in patients from out of state since the Dobbs decision. As we continue to grapple with the repercussions of the Dobbs decision and the legal landscape nationally continues to shift, Planned Parenthood is prepared to continue to work with our state leaders to expand and protect access to abortion and reproductive health care in our state.

We're proud that the right to abortion and birth control is now explicitly in the California Constitution. And I want to thank Senator Skinner for her leadership and for bringing awareness to the harm caused since Roe was overturned. With this resolution, Planned Parenthood is proud to be here in support and as a sponsor of SR 9 and ask for your supporting committee today. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Robson. All right, anyone else here in room 1200 wish to testify in support of SR 9?

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members, Erin Evans, on behalf of the California Nurse Midwives Association, in support of this important resolution. Thanks.

Thank you. Anyone else here in room 1200? Seeing no one approaches the microphone, let's now turn to the phones. Moderator, if you would queue up those who are in support of SR 9.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Anyone who wishes to speak in support of this, please press one, then zero. At this time. An AT&T operator will access your phone line outside of the conference and provide you with further instructions. Please press one, then zero. Only once. One moment for our first comment. And our first comment will come from our first comment will come from line 17. Line 17, your line is now open.

Hi, good afternoon, Chair and committee members. My name is Onyemma Obiekea calling on behalf of Black Women for Wellness and Black Women For Action Project. Proud sponsors of this Senate Resolution in support. Thank you.

Thank you.

And we'll now hear from line 14. Line 14. Your line is now open.

Good afternoon, Stephanie Estrada and support on behalf of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. Thank you.

Thank you.

And final call from anyone who wishes to comment. Please press one and zero at this time. Mr. Chair, no one has signaled that they wish to speak.

All right, thank you, moderator. I believe we have two witnesses, one on the phone and one here in the hearing room, in opposition. So if we can now turn to the opposition, do we have Susan Arnall on the phone? If not we do. Okay, good. Ms. Arnall, the floor is yours.

Thank you. My name is Susan Swift Arnall. I am the Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Right to Life League, America's first pro-life organization. SR 9 is a dangerous cultural Marxism promoting the killing of humans in the womb. Cloaked in the guise of reproductive freedom, SR 9 represents the height of California legislative hypocrisy. This very body has a history of repeatedly passing resolutions and bills that ignore both Supreme Court rulings as well as the full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution.

In 2022, you passed both Senate Resolution 63 and House Resolution 78. Both urged support for a constitutional right to abortion on demand, even as our Supreme Court considered the fundamental constitutional flaws in Roe versus Wade.

Worse, the California Legislature actually passed AB 1666, a law that ignores valid out-of-state judgments, and its companion piece, AB 2091, which demands California courts ignore valid subpoenas from other jurisdictions. Both of these laws ignore the Full Faith and Credit clause of our Constitution and figuratively give the middle finger to judgments and subpoenas from our sister states. Just weeks ago, Senator Skinner introduced yet another Bill, SB 36, that demands our state courts refuse to enforce valid warrants issued by other states.

This shows a pattern of defiance of both federal and state law. SR 9, like these laws, shows absolute disdain and disrespect for our federal and state laws. SR 9 once again demands our Congress to cowtow to a radical pro abortion perspective to ignore both our Constitution as well as the clear ruling of the Supreme Court to implement the killing of children in the womb as a form of freedom. SR 9 is cultural Marxism offering a twisted, hypocritical definition of freedom.

This body ought to be ashamed to pass a resolution that calls the killing of another human reproductive freedom. Accordingly, the resolution is an irresponsible and reprehensible waste of California's legislative time and resources. Vote no. Thank you for your time.

All right, Ms. Arnall. Next, I believe. Greg Burt, if you're here, go ahead. Mr. Burt's approaching the microphone.

Thank you, chair members. My name is Greg Burt. I'm with the California Family Council. I suspect many of you wish pro-life advocates like myself would just give it a rest, especially after last year you successfully passed 13 abortion bills and worked to put abortion protections in the state constitution right up to the moment of birth. So why do people like me keep coming back to the Capitol, you might ask, speaking out against abortion when we are obviously so outnumbered in California? Our opponents falsely attribute sinister motives behind our activism. No, we are not eager to control women's bodies, nor do we have animus towards women.

Instead, we are motivated by some of the same values that I suspect animated your entry into public service: a belief in pursuing justice for all. An eagerness to defend the dignity of every human being, no matter how small, no matter how powerless, and no matter how wanted or unwanted. We are also motivated by the words of Jesus that Governor Newsom quoted to promote abortion last year.

He quoted Mark 12:31, which says, "Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment." But who is our neighbor? Is it not those who need our love and protection the most? No human being is more vulnerable and weak than an unborn baby. I'm also personally motivated to speak out against abortion after witnessing the birth of my own three children. What a miracle that was. Their fingers, their toes were so perfect.

They were so small and needy. I immediately felt a desire to protect them and a responsibility to protect them. But abortion is the opposite of protection. And slapping the words care onto abortion doesn't transform the whore of the act into something beautiful and kind. We need to offer women with unplanned pregnancies who are desperate, abused, and poor something better than this. And that's why we are in strong opposition to SR 9. Please vote no.

Mr. Burt. Okay, anyone else here in the hearing room wish to testify in opposition to SR 9? Seeing no one approaches the microphone. Moderator, let's turn to the phone lines. If you would queue up those who are in opposition to SR. 9.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your opportunity to speak in opposition. And again, we will stress that this is not for those in support. This is only for those in opposition at this time. Our first comment will come from line 13.

Yes, Penny Harrington from San Diego County in opposition.

All right, thank you.

Line twelve.

This is Molly Sheahan with the California Catholic Conference in opposition. Thank you.

Thank you.

Once again, for anyone who wished to speak in opposition, please press one, then zero. Mr. Chair, we have several people who have signaled that they wish to speak in opposition. Just a moment. Now we're going to go to line 15.

Yes. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Thank you. Tracy Resendiz: Hayward, California, member of Pro-life San Francisco, votes in opposition.

Thank you.

All right.

And pardon me, Mr. Chair. Just another moment. I'm going to go now to line 18.

Your line is now open.

My name is Dana Boat. I'm with the Capital Resource Institute, and I would like to just say that I oppose very strongly SR 9.

Thank you.

All right, next.

Mr. Chair, there is no one else.

Okay, let's bring it back here to the committee hearing room. Questions? Comments by committee members? Seeing...Senator Durazo moves the bill. Questions or comments. Seeing- Senator Min?

I want to thank my colleagues, Senator Skinner and Protem, and my colleagues in the Legislative Women's Caucus for bringing this forward. I am a father of three children. I'm a practicing Christian, and I strongly support SR 9.

My three children are also precious. I really appreciated and loved every moment of their birth.

But my wife and I made that decision. My wife made the decision on when we would have those children. She let me be part of that decision.

We used contraception until the time when we felt it was appropriate to have kids. When we were ready. It was our choice, our decision.

Now, as many of you may know, I was a law professor before joining the state senate. I was not a constitutional law professor, but I know enough about constitutional law to know that the decision in Dobbs was outrageous. It was dishonest that the five justices who drafted this opinion, who signed on to Samuel Alito's draft opinion, talked about their role as neutral arbiters, as referees who call balls and strikes.

And yet they lied. Three of them expressly said under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee that they respected the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, that they would follow it.

And as soon as they had five Members ready to overturn it, they reversed that position. This is a decision that has had huge impacts on our society, will have huge impacts on our economy. And by the way, I will note that the logic of the decision doesn't just affect women's reproductive rights.

The right to privacy lies at the root of many, many rights we take for granted today, including interracial marriage. And I have an interracial marriage. This is an atrocious decision.

It's one that defies all logic; all precedent is dishonest. And I think that we in California need to do all we can to defend people's liberties. So, I move the bill as well, and I thank the authors for bringing this forward.

Thank you, Senator Min. Seeing no other comments or questions. Senator Skinner, do you care to close?

Thank you, Chair. This resolution, unlike years past, when we were primarily marking an anniversary, this resolution also includes it is communication to our federal government, to the President, and to Congress to act. Because what is the Dobbs decision? Unlike one of the opponent's descriptions, the Dobbs decision left it to the states.

And so it didn't make abortion per se illegal, only if a state acted. And so given that states are acting, and also the Dobbs decision basically said if Congress wants to do otherwise, they have the right to act and to put in law the right to an abortion or protections for abortion. And so that's what this resolution does.

That's what it asks our federal government to do. And with that, I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Skinner. The bill has been moved by Senator Durazo. Ms. Recinos, if you'd call the role. Madam Secretary -

- call the role.

The motion is that the resolution be adopted as amended.

[Roll Call]

You have nine to one so far.

All right, we'll leave the role open here for a moment. Madam Secretary, who - all right, we'll leave the roll open if Senator Wilk wishes to return for five minutes.

So before we all depart, though, I want to thank all the individuals who participated in public testimony today. If you were not able to testify, please submit your comments or suggestions in writing to Senate Judiciary Committee at SJUD.FAX at SCN.CA gov or visit our website for instructions.

Your comments and suggestions are important to us, and we want to include your testimony in the official committee records. Thank you. And we appreciate your participation.

Thank you, everyone here for your patience. I'll await Senator Wilk for a few minutes. Otherwise, we have no other business to consider.

All right, thank you.

The vote is nine to one.

All right, the resolution passes. With that, we will adjourn. Thank you.