The battle rages on even in California, a State that quickly stepped up to protect women's rights to manage their health care.
As California, at a statewide level, was willing to protect women's rights, it fell to the cities and counties to find ways to interfere. After anti-women's rights extremists made it clear they'd bring their protests to the streets, Beverly Hills City Council quietly moved to quash a clinic's planned opening in town. The article makes it pretty clear the city was more involved than they were letting on.
"They kowtowed to a group of anti-abortion extremists," Abrams said. "They betrayed the residents and they betrayed the voters of California. And I think they betrayed people and women all over the country who are in need of safe reproductive health care."
The Beverly Hills for Choice activists argue that, in the emails they obtained, city officials never consider whether they have an obligation to protect DuPont Clinic's right to operate. The activists believe the city was primarily concerned with appeasing protestors to avoid the "messiness" that would follow if the clinic opened.
In another series of exchanges, from July 2023, city officials including then-Mayor Gold communicated and set up meetings with Tim Clement, outreach director for Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, about further protests his group had planned outside the medical center where DuPont was no longer opening. After Clement wrote in an email that "we would be willing to turn our campaign in another direction out of Beverly Hills" if the city would provide a written statement that "DuPont is definitely NOT moving into Beverly Hills City limits," Deputy City Manager Sterling confirmed that "the lease has been rescinded."
LAist
