California Would Provide Students Free Abortions

SB 24: Chemical abortions at all public CA universities

California’s 33 public universities could soon be offering new on-campus benefits for its students: free chemical abortions. That means that on any given day, a student could attend a couple of classes, grab some lunch, download reading assignments at the campus library and start the process of terminating her unborn baby without missing a (heart) beat.

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KEY POINTS
What’s Happening: “Medical abortion” on public universities nears approval.
Two Related Stories: A 16-year-old forced to abort; a mother who resisted the pressure to abort.
Implications: Young adults making life-changing decisions without full knowledge
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How Not Knowing Hurts 

Nada Higuera, a Church United speaker and attorney for Advocates for Faith & Freedom, wishes these young women had a true picture of what they were doing.

“I would love for people to have to see what happens during these abortion procedures,” said Nada Higuera, a Church United speaker and attorney for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. 

Nada, who was raised a Muslim, was forced at 16 to terminate a pregnancy that resulted from raped by a family friend. Her parents viewed unmarried pregnant women as unclean. At the clinic, no one told her of options or the status of the fetus. Neither was she told anything about the procedure, which was paid for by taxpayers. 

“I wasn’t shown a sonogram,” the attorney said. “It was so easy and seamless, almost like going into a store to pick up a gallon of milk. Get it done. Walk out. There was no information. I couldn’t tell you today how far along I was, whether I was four weeks along or four months. They are supposedly all about information and facts, but it was so dark. Everything was hidden.” 

CA Senate Bill 24

That is the unfortunate the reality of Senate Bill 24, which, according to the bill’s language, “provides abortion by medication techniques” up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. 

Hiding the truth behind the generic phrase “medication techniques,” chemical abortions actually involve a brutal two-pill process. Mifepristone or RU-486 ends the baby’s life, followed by misoprostol, which causes the uterus to cramp and contract so that the baby’s bloody remains are flushed from the womb. The process to expel the baby can take as long as two weeks. 

If approved, the program would begin as soon as January 2023.

The Stakes Are High

But Luis Garcia, an Orange County youth pastor, believes providing easy access to abortion is dangerous. He should know. His mother was undergoing treatment for cysts when doctors discovered she was pregnant. At the time, she was on powerful medication known to cause fetal deformities. Her doctor pressured her to have an abortion, saying her child would likely have missing limbs and cognitive disorders and be underdeveloped. She refused to terminate the pregnancy. 

Luis is now in his early 20s and attending seminary. (Learn more about Youth Pastor Luis’ story in an upcoming article and video tomorrow.)

From that family legacy Luis has become a passionate advocate for life, tapping into resources and information he’s garnered through Church United. He hopes to set the example for other pastors by talking about the issue wherever and whenever possible.

"Pastors often dodge the subject because it's so controversial," he said. "But we need to be open to the discussion. The stakes are too high to emain silent."

“I also think it’s important to talk to the youth about this because I don’t want our youth to be brainwashed.”

Luis’s concern as a pastor and as a college student dovetails with one of the points critics are making about SB 24: The moral implications of providing such a “quick fix” to a young, vulnerable population overwhelmed by the academic and social demands of adulthood, including widespread alcohol use. Students often make rash decisions without the guidance of a parent and, despite what they are told by abortion workers, the ramifications of abortion can last a lifetime.

Predictably, SB 24 glosses over serious considerations, including the dangers associated with the use of the abortion cocktail, with risks that include nausea, vomiting, bleeding, and pelvic pain. According to the FDA, at least 22 deaths have been attributed to chemical abortions and more than 4,000 cases of serious adverse reactions have been documented leading to the hospitalization of more than 1,000 women. 

Artificial “Barriers” to Health Services

State Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, who introduced the bill, said SB 24 is needed so “college students don’t face unnecessary barriers,” when it comes to abortion. Her bill states that such abortions should be considered a “basic health service.”

“Students should not have to travel off campus or miss class or work responsibilities in order to receive care that can easily be provided at a student health center,” the lawmaker said.

After passing in the Senate by a margin of 28-10, the bill will likely advance through the Assembly. Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated he will sign the bill, unlike his predecessor Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed a similar bill (SB 320) last year. 

Brown’s veto was a surprising departure from his normally staunch support of abortion. In his veto message he wrote that “according to a study sponsored by supporters of this legislation, the average distance to abortion providers in campus communities varies from five to seven miles, not an unreasonable distance.” He said that because “the services required by this bill are widely available off-campus, this bill is not necessary.”

The study Brown was referring to was published August 2018 in the Journal of Adolescent Health. It estimated that as many as 519 public university students in California seek chemical abortions everymonth and that the average abortion facility was just six miles away from public colleges.

Funding for the SB 24-mandated program would initially be provided through private donations, though financing beyond 2026 is not addressed, meaning taxpayers could end up footing the bill. In preparation for the new law, each campus health clinic would be provided $200,000 in grants from a soon-to-be-established College Student Health Center Sexual and Reproductive Health Preparation Fund to accommodate treatment readiness, including permits, facility and security upgrades, equipment purchase and staff training, according to a Newsweekreport. 

The irony of all of this is that SB 24 undermines institutes of learning by creating a massive, one-sided propaganda machine—with deadly consequences—at the susceptible intersection of the teen years and adulthood. 

How much more hidden will abortions become when women are given pills and directed to go home and abort their babies in private?

Please pray this bill would be stopped as it's scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Higher Education Committee on Tuesday, June 25, 1:30 p.m.