On the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed states to restrict abortion nationwide, San Diego leaders on Monday gathered to express their determination to continue resisting the changes occurring outside California.
While some, such as Bishop Michael Burbidge, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, celebrated “ending the tragic reign of Roe v. Wade,” San Diego’s largest provider of reproductive health care used the moment as an opportunity for a rallying cry.
“It’s clear they have one goal, to deny us the right to make our own decisions about our own lives, about our own values,” said Darrah Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. “While this anniversary is a reminder that our sexual and reproductive freedoms are under attack like never before, it’s also a reminder that at Planned Parenthood we will never back down.
“We will never back down from doing what is best for our patients and for all the communities we serve.”
The executive, who recently announced her intent to leave the organization after 18 years of leadership, said that the fall of Roe two years ago resulted in an 8 percent to 10 percent increase in visits from patients who live outside California.
To date, about 21 states have restricted the practice of abortion rights since the Supreme Court published its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, declaring that “the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion,” and finding that “the Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion.”
Dr. Antoinette Marengo, Planned Parenthood’s Chief Medical Officer in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside counties, said the current landscape of different approaches to this central issue has caused much confusion among women.
“We know that the ability to access safe legal abortion in the United States is still determined by where you live and how much money you have,” Marengo said. “Due to systemic racism and discrimination, black, Latino and indigenous people, and those living (in) low income or rural areas continue to bear the brunt of these bans.”
Though the Catholic Church has stood on the other side of this debate, continuing to consider abortion a grave sin, the on-the-ground approach is far more nuanced, explained Robert Ehnow, director of the Office for Life, Peace and Justice at the Catholic Diocese of San Diego.
While the diocese continues to host an annual Walk for Life in June that draws thousands of participants, he said it also offers support to women considering abortion.
“When a woman has an abortion that’s a very difficult decision and, as a church, we try to be there, even if that decision results in an abortion, we’re still there to provide care and comfort,” Ehnow said. “You know, we run anywhere from eight to 12 retreats a year for women that have had abortions, that want either spiritual or emotional healing from that experience, and we try to do it without judgment.”
While some states have immediately moved to restrict access to abortions and conception-related care such as invitro fertilization, California has turned the opposite direction at speed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a new bill that allows doctors from Arizona who provide abortions to serve their patients in California, circumventing restrictions now in place in their home state. The California Legislature also amended the state’s constitution to enshrine the right to abortion in the Golden State, also declining to prosecute those undergoing such procedures who travel from states with bans or partial bans in place.
