San Francisco, CA — In response to the Supreme Court’s decision that has resulted in the loss of the constitutional right to abortion, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed announced initial steps being taken to prepare for impacts locally and to ensure that San Francisco continues to stand as a place that proudly protects and supports a woman’s right to choose.
With input from leading abortion rights advocacy organizations, the San Francisco Department of the Status of Women (DOSW) has identified next steps San Francisco will take to both prepare for any influx of people traveling from out-of-state as well as minimize the harm from this ruling.
- DOSW has begun initiating a Bay Area coordinating table of providers, advocacy organizations and local government agencies to better understand the services available throughout the region and what may be needed, as well as to prepare for any state level interventions that may come.
- DOSW has begun measuring local capacity of abortion care services to understand what services are available to women in San Francisco, and what impacts may be as a result of this ruling.
- DOSW is distributing $250,000 in emergency grants for local organizations for immediate capacity building and wraparound service support so that women can continue to receive the care and support they need as service demand potentially increases.
“This decision is devastating to women and our country,” said Mayor Breed. “San Francisco has proudly served for generations as a place that respects fundamental civil rights, including a woman’s right to choose. The ramifications from this Supreme Court ruling on public health, poverty, and so many downstream consequences have yet to be seen, but right now, women are scared about what this means for them, for their daughters, for all of us. San Francisco cannot correct national policy, but we can ensure that those in in this city are safe from anyone who wants to criminalize medical care and that we are working with the entire Bay Area to prepare for any impacts of this decision.”
“It took 40 years for conservatives to plot and scheme the rollback of women’s bodily autonomy and we must have the same unbending and resolute commitment to undoing this new world of forced birth, even if it takes us another 40 years to get there. We will never give up,” said Kimberly Ellis, Director of DOSW. “There will be botched home and back-alley abortions, and women will die unnecessarily. We have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to protect the lives of living, breathing mothers, daughters, sisters, partners and wives. No person should have to choose between giving birth and death, yet that’s exactly our new reality.”