California Bill Would Allow Non-Physicians to Perform Abortions

A bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) desk would make it easier for nurse practitioners and midwives in California to perform abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy. 

The bill passed the state Senate Monday on a party line vote, 25-11, and went back to the Assembly for a final vote on amendments.

The legislation would allow those non-physician professionals to perform “aspiration” abortions, in which a tube is inserted into the uterus and the unborn baby is sucked out.

According to cbslocal.com, Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) said an expansion of the list of professionals who are legally able to perform abortions would help women in rural areas who have difficulty arranging for, and traveling to, an abortionist.

Sen. Joel Anderson (R) said legalized abortion was supposed to end unsafe abortions, yet the current bill would allow abortion procedures to be conducted by those with less training and in clinics lacking sufficient ancillary services in the event of complications.

Currently, under California law, nurse practitioners can administer abortion drugs. Oregon, Montana, Vermont, and New Hampshire all allow nurse practitioners to perform first trimester abortions.

In response to the bill’s approval, Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said, “The pro-abortion lobby will stop at nothing to force an abortion-first mentality on women and families–silencing weak and defenseless pre-born children, and ignoring common-sense protections for women in some of their most vulnerable moments.

“‘All women deserve access to health care in their local communities’… even if it kills them, or their children. That’s the thought process behind this actual quotation from Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara, regarding California’s ill-advised new law expanding abortions in the state.” Rose continued:

In what other realm of business does this bizarre standard pass muster? Do you let a butcher build your house because you ‘deserve access to’ a carpenter? Do you let a nurse do your bypass surgery because you ‘deserve access to’ a cardiologist? Nowhere else does ‘we really need it, therefore let unqualified people do it’ make sense – and the mentality doesn’t make sense here, either. In fact, it’s downright dangerous.

In the wake of Kermit Gosnell, in whose abortion facility a woman died from an untrained staff member’s mistake, it’s unthinkable for lawmakers in California to push a law like this. How many more times will my home state carry water for this unregulated industry which makes its money off of the vulnerable moments of women and by murdering pre-born children?

“I can’t think of a single national trend that California isn’t bucking,” said Brian Johnston, the Western Regional Director at the National Right to Life Committee. “The reality is that a human life must end for this to be an abortion and so this is an issue of huge significance, and other states recognize that.”