SACRAMENTO—Democratic lawmakers voted down a bill April 24 that would have added information about licensed pregnancy centers to sexual education curriculums at California public schools.
“I am incredibly disappointed the Senate Education Committee failed to offer diverse choices and create informed futures for students by rejecting SB 1368,” Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, the bill’s author, posted April 25 on X.
Senate Bill 1368 sought to balance information provided to students by including resources about pregnancy centers, which provide reproductive health services but do not perform abortions.
“When we have diverse options and choices, we have diverse futures and informed futures,” Ms. Ochoa Bogh told The Epoch Times. “It’s important to let [students] know that there’s so much available to them that they might not be aware of.”
Medical services provided by licensed pregnancy centers include pregnancy tests, ultrasound examinations, medical referrals, early prenatal care, and sexually transmitted disease tests and treatments. The centers also support families with counseling and other services.
“Pregnancy centers are able to support our most vulnerable communities,” Ms. Ochoa Bogh said during a press conference on the lawn of the Capitol before the committee hearing. “I have seen firsthand the work of these pregnancy centers in my district.”
In 2019, such centers in California provided more than $14.3 million worth of confidential services and materials free of charge to nearly 100,000 individuals, according to the author.
She said the bill was needed to help educate middle- and high-school students about opportunities available through licensed centers and to balance the information currently provided, as information on abortion clinics is already offered in the curriculums.
“Many women know where to get an abortion, but most women don’t know that free resources from pregnancy centers exist,” Ms. Ochoa Bogh said.
“Updating this information will give students more opportunities and more choices. It simply brings into parity the resources offered to students, giving them information about Planned Parenthood and licensed pregnancy centers.”
She argued that given more information, students can plan for their future and improve their quality of life.
“Students should have access to all available information because if they find themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy or other reproductive health issue, they’ll be better prepared to make decisions about their future,” Ms. Ochoa Bogh said.
A sponsor of the bill said the measure would have proven beneficial for young Californians most in need of support.
“[Community pregnancy centers] provide necessary and vital assistance to people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures,” Kathleen Jones, CEO of Life Choice Pregnancy Center, said during the press conference.
One supporter of the bill who testified before the committee, a mother of two daughters who had five abortions when younger, said the information provided by pregnancy centers could have greatly benefited her.
“Unfortunately, when I was growing up, I was told that Planned Parenthood was the only place I could go to receive care for my unplanned pregnancies other than the hospital,” Kellee Bradford, 44, said during the press conference. “When I went there, the only service I was offered was an abortion.”
Another supporter said the information would have empowered students.
“The inclusion of pregnancy centers is a viable local resource for teens and young parents,” Janette Chun, CEO of Birth Choice Centers and president of the California Alliance for Pregnancy Care, said during the press conference. “The youth should be given all of the options available to them so they can make the best decisions for themselves and their sexual health.”
One health care worker and supporter of the bill said the pregnancy centers help serve families and newborns during the critical early years of life.
“Our life centers and our community clinics are there to help women, really help women, not just in giving birth but in taking care of that baby for years to come,” Angela Cox, a licensed registered nurse working with the Sac Valley Women’s Health Clinic, told The Epoch Times.
One critical care nurse, with 26 years of experience, highlighted the role licensed facilities play in serving women across the state.
“Every pregnancy center in California truly believe that women deserve the best, most accurate, most professional, most personalized, and most high-quality care possible,” Cindy Cleveland, lead clinical nurse with Sacramento-based Alternatives Pregnancy Center, said at the press conference.
No expert witnesses testified against the measure, and only one unnamed individual was listed in opposition in the committee’s legislative analysis, though the committee staff cautioned against the bill.
Citing a report from the Guttmacher Institute released in 2012, staffers noted that some crisis pregnancy centers lean toward a pro-life model and are opposed to abortions.
“[Pregnancy centers] are typically associated with national anti-abortion organizations and evangelical Christian networks,” the Guttmacher report concluded. “[They] often offer misleading information that may delay or deny women access to proper reproductive health services, influence their decisions, and ultimately lead to more unintended births.”
tThe committee analysis also pointed to a joint policy adopted with the Assembly Education Committee prohibiting measures which modify state curriculum frameworks as a reason for rejecting the proposal.
With many of the committee members absent during the bill’s hearing due to scheduling conflicts, there was no debate on the matter. The two Republican members voted in favor of SB 1368, while four Democrats voted against it and one abstained, thus killing the bill.
