Two Bills Support Decisions to End Pregnancy

The Legislature on Monday passed bills aimed at providing emergency contraception services for sexual assault victims and shoring up abortion training at medical schools.

Both bills are expected to reach Gov. Gray Davis’ desk within two weeks. Davis is expected to sign both into law.

The Assembly passed, 46 to 4, a measure that would require health-care workers to provide “morning after” contraception pills to sexual assault victims upon request.

The bill, which received no significant opposition, would expand post-assault procedures, which now focus on gathering evidence and the treatment of injuries.

Supporters say victims would be given the right to prevent the further tragedy of unwanted pregnancy.

“This makes a contraceptive available to women who have been victimized, and we want to prevent pregnancy and be realistic about the problem,” said Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco).

In another measure, the Senate approved legislation that supporters say would increase the dwindling number of abortion doctors by requiring medical schools to provide training.

Though the state’s medical schools must offer education in how to terminate pregnancies to be accredited, backers fear that some institutions de-emphasize the classes by offering them as electives or offering them off-campus.

The legislation, which passed 25 to 13, does not include any enforcement measures beyond what is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. But supporters have said the law would force the private, standard-setting council to demand stricter compliance with its rules.

“This sends a loud and clear message to California schools: You’ve got to make it accessible for residents who want to take this training,” said Joan Hall, a legislative advocate for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Under the bill, students objecting to abortion on religious or moral grounds would not be required to take the training.

Some antiabortion groups opposed the training measure.

In a written statement, the Committee on Moral Concerns argued that the bill required “every new gynecologist in California, except the few who have a solid religious or moral commitment, to learn to disregard the lives of humans in early stages of life.”

A third bill supported by reproductive rights groups is scheduled to be heard soon in the Assembly. That legislation, which has already passed the Senate, is considered the most significant of the three, and aims to strengthen the state’s existing abortion law.

The bill is intended to provide safe and legal abortions, even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortions.