Letter in support of AB 1666

Dear Assemblymember Bauer Kahan

I am writing on behalf of The San Francisco Black & Jewish Unity Coalition in support of AB 1666. We urge the California Legislature to pass AB 1666, which would add necessary protections for abortion care. The San Francisco Black & Jewish Unity Coalition is a faith-based organization founded by Black and Jewish clergy which has around 100 social activists of all faiths who are committed to the causes of racial, social and economic justice and dismantling systemic racism in San Francisco, the Bay Area and the state.  Our Health and General Welfare Committee focus is to advocate for and partner with organizations to support local, underserved communities’ access to culturally appropriate health care, nutritional education, healthy foods, housing security, safe spaces for physical activity, mental health and substance abuse services.  We also focus on safety from violence and trauma in communities of color.

This year, the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a direct challenge, and has revealed that it may rule against, the constitutional right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. Should the Court overturn Roe or allow Mississippi’s abortion ban to remain in place, people in over half of the states in the country – over 36 million people – will lose access to abortion in their state. It is already happening. For over 6 months, S.B. 8, a Texas law that prohibits abortions past six weeks, has been in effect – resulting in Texans losing access to most abortions in their state and forcing them to travel out of state to seek care. The Texas law relies on private citizens, even those who have no connection to the person seeking the abortion, to enforce the abortion ban by filing civil lawsuits against abortion providers and those who assist people in obtaining abortions. Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld this scheme to circumvent judicial review of an unconstitutional state law and law makers in 18 states have now introduced or announced they will introduce legislation to ban abortion modeled after the Texas law. As people in these states travel out of state to seek abortion care, more and more patients will turn to California for care – making abortion providers and those who assist those patients at risk for civil liability.

AB 1666 will protect California abortion providers from civil liability when delivering care to patients from states with hostile anti-abortion laws. This bill directly addresses one of the 45 recommendations in the California Future of Abortion Council Report. The San Francisco Black & Jewish Unity Coalition is committed to ensuring providers are able to provide all women access to comprehensive, high quality sexual and reproductive health care, including abortions, free from judgment, interference, and fear of retribution.

For these reasons, The San Francisco Black & Jewish Unity Coalition urges the California Legislature to pass AB 1666.

Jason Mitchell and Suzanne Sande Mrlik

Co-chairs Health and General Welfare Committee

San Francisco Black & Jewish Unity Coalition

jason@mitchellgroupsf.com, zanne_mrlik@yahoo.com