Governor Newsom is celebrating the signing of two abortion rights bills today; one that requires insurance companies to hide from parents certain medical services their children are receiving. The other prohibits the videotaping of clients and employees of abortion clinics, but fails to protect pro-life sidewalk counselors who videotape their work for their own protection.
AB 1184, sponsored by Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, prohibits insurance companies from revealing to the policyholder the “sensitive” services of anyone on their policy, including minor children, even though the policy owner is financially responsible for the services. These “sensitive” services include abortions, sexual assault treatment, drug abuse and mental health treatment, cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and sex-change operations. In California, minors can consent to all of these sensitive treatments, except for sex-change surgeries, after the age of 12 under certain conditions, and consent to abortions at any age.
“How can moms and dads protect their children if insurance companies deliberately keep them in the dark?” said California Family Council President Jonathan Keller. “Parents are responsible for the health and safety of their sons and daughters. Even the best-intentioned medical providers cannot replace the role of mothers and fathers. California should not force doctors to hide the truth about irreversible medical procedures like abortion and sterilizing hormone treatments.”
All nine Republican members of the California Senate agree. They recently sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to veto AB 1184.
“We should be encouraging parents and family to be involved in their children’s lives, not removing them further from it,” states the letter from Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Rancho Cucamonga) and signed by the other eight Republican Senators.
“This bill, in an effort to further hide information from parents and caregivers, would put policyholders in the impossible position of being financially responsible for bills they did not incur and cannot verify as being legitimate. Additionally, it further limits parents’ abilities to protect their children by removing them from sensitive conversations as early as 12 years old. Parents have a right to be involved in sensitive medical decisions for their young children.”
Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Governor Newsom also signed AB 1356, which penalizes anyone who photographs or videotapes abortions clinic employees or patients to harass them, but fails to sufficiently protect prolife counselors or peaceful protestors who videotape their own work for their own protection.
“No health care provider or patient should face harassment, either online or in-person. But AB 1356 fails to consider peaceful pro-life advocates who sometimes use body-cam footage to protect themselves and their clients,” Keller explained.
