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With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to release a formal opinion about the right to abortion later this month, and in the wake of the leaked draft opinion that rocked the nation in May, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors directed County Counsel to take legal action if necessary to protect reproductive rights.
“As we talked about the pending threat at our Federal Affairs Advocacy Task Force, with great input I should say from County Counsel’s office, it seemed clearer and clearer to me that we were likely to be in a position where we really did have to step up on the legal front, as we did on so many issues throughout the prior presidential administration,” Supervisor Joe Simitian said during the board’s June 7 meeting, where he brought the item forward.
Simitian acknowledged that it’s “a little unusual” for the board to take an action like this before a formal opinion is released. But given the contents of the leaked draft opinion, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which made it clear that the Court will likely overturn Roe v. Wade, Simitian said it was an action the board needed to take now.
“I think we’re going to need to move swiftly, we’re going to need to empower our County Counsel’s office to move swiftly, and that is in effect what the requested action today calls for,” Simitian said.
The resolution calls on County Counsel to take legal action and other necessary steps to preserve a person’s right to choose to have an abortion. It also directs County Administration to report to the board about efforts to enshrine the right to choose in the California Constitution so the board can express its support for any such state legislative changes. Finally, Simitian’s proposal directs County Counsel to report to the Health and Hospital Committee at the first meeting following publication of the Supreme Court opinion.
Supervisor Cindy Chavez requested that the board add one more bullet point to the resolution.
“I wondered if the staff could also just give a report back on the status of the training that doctors and other medical personnel would get around reproductive health rights, abortion specifically,” Chavez said. “If states are banning abortion I don’t really know what the implications are for the medical schools that are in those states.”
Simitian supported adding this to the resolution, and said he is equally concerned about how abortion access may be affected by fewer medical professionals being able to provide the service.
“I spent some time last night sitting down and reading the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision again,” Simitian said. “I was reminded again of how much the world has changed — how very different the world appeared to be through the eyes of the court 50 years ago almost now.”
The board voted 5-0 in support of the resolution. Community Health Partnership CEO Dolores Alvarado applauded the board’s decision.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will result in denied essential reproductive health services to women, immigrants, communities of color, and those who are low-income,” Alvarado said in a statement from Simitian’s office. “It will not only have far-reaching community health and social implications, but further exacerbate health inequities.”
