Today, Vice President Kamala Harris convened California state legislators, local leaders, and advocates to discuss the fight to protect reproductive health care. She applauded the leaders for their work protecting abortion access for Californians and encouraged them to continue standing up for reproductive rights.
The state leaders and advocates shared ways that they have safeguarded reproductive rights in California and plan to continue expanding rights in the future. They discussed concerns with data protections and ways to ensure patient privacy. The participants conveyed the importance of protecting both patients and providers, noting that every person deserves access to health care. The Vice President applauded the legislators for their work being a safe harbor for women from other states who are seeking reproductive health care despite great challenges in their own states.
The Vice President shared what she has heard from state legislators across the country about challenges they are experiencing, and she encouraged the California leaders to collaborate with leaders in other states as part of a broad coalition defending reproductive rights and freedoms.
The Vice President is bringing together leaders from across the nation who are on the frontlines fighting to protect a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health decisions. With this convening, the Vice President has met with state legislators from 18 states to discuss protecting reproductive rights, including Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. She has also convened health care providers, constitutional law experts, faith leaders, state attorneys general, disability rights leaders, higher education leaders, and advocates.
Participants
- Senate pro Tempore Toni Atkins
- Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, California (D)
- Attorney General Rob Bonta
- Gilda Gonzales, CEO, Planned Parenthood NorCal
- Shannon Hovis, Director, NARAL Pro-Choice California
