AG Rob Bonta Intervenes in Unprecedented Case, Defending Abortion Access
Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigation after reports that the city of Beverly Hills had interfered with the establishment of a Dupont Clinic for women’s reproductive health in the city of Beverly Hills.
He announced that a stipulated judgment had been accepted in the case and remarked on social media that “California is a strong reproductive freedom state. But even here, these rights are not immune from attack. We’ve held Beverly Hills accountable for unlawfully denying & interfering with access to reproductive healthcare and we’ll defend reproductive justice for all.” on October 31.
You can watch the press conference here:
The Dupont Clinic issued a statement on the matter which said, “For years, municipalities across this country have used permitting power and governmental pressure campaigns to quietly prevent clinics from opening and thus limiting abortion access, even in California, which holds itself up as an abortion access state. But never before has the state’s Attorney General had to go to court to intervene when a local government in California abused its power to prevent an abortion clinic from opening.
This is unprecedented. Attorney General Bonta took action because this is more than a city meddling with a private lease: this is about protecting access to abortion and fundamental freedom in California. The Attorney General’s investigation indicated that the City of Beverly Hills deviated from its normal processes and conspired with the landlord Douglas Emmett to evict DuPont in the middle of construction for our new clinic.
The Attorney General emphasized that the City “blatantly violated” the law by actively interfering with DuPont’s lease. Beverly Hills blocked our clinic from opening, knowing it would limit abortion access not just for the people of their city, but for Californians and people living under abortion bans across the country. In the past, the state Attorney General’s office has intervened to prevent anti-abortion entities from denying Californians the care they need.
Vice President Kamala Harris took many actions to expand access to abortion during her time as California Attorney General. California has had a clear-sighted mission to ensure every Californian and every individual traveling from across the country – can receive abortion care in our state. Just last month, Attorney General Bonta ended the debate about gestational age limits in California and confirmed that healthcare facilities, local municipalities, and anti-abortion extremists cannot interfere with access to reproductive healthcare.
We are so grateful for Attorney General Bonta for his leadership on this issue and his team especially Erica Connolly and Karli Eisenberg – for their tireless effort to ensure justice in this case. Anti-abortion extremism has no place in the state of California, and DuPont will continue to fight for abortion access for Californians and those who need to travel here for care they cannot access in their own states.”
