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  • AG Letter To Temecula-9-23

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    California Attorney General Rob Bonta's letter to Temecula City Councilmembers -- dated Sept. 23, 2022

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    AG Letter to Temecula-9-23

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    California Attorney General Rob Bonta's letter to Temecula City Councilmembers -- dated Sept. 23, 2022

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    11K views2 pages

    AG Letter To Temecula-9-23

    Uploaded by

    The Press-Enterprise / pressenterprise.com
    California Attorney General Rob Bonta's letter to Temecula City Councilmembers -- dated Sept. 23, 2022

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 2

    ROB BONTA State of California

    Attorney General DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


    1300 I STREET, SUITE 125
    P.O. BOX 944255
    SACRAMENTO, CA 94244-2550

    Public: (916) 445-9555


    Telephone: (916) 210-7894
    Facsimile: (916) 324-5567
    Email: [email protected]

    September 23, 2022

    Sent via email

    Matt Rahn
    Temecula Mayor
    41000 Main Street
    Temecula, CA 92590
    [email protected]

    Zak Schwank
    Mayor Pro Tem
    41000 Main Street
    Temecula, CA 92590
    [email protected]

    Maryann Edwards
    James “Stew” Stewart
    Jessica Alexander
    Temecula City Council Members
    41000 Main Street
    Temecula, CA 92590
    [email protected]
    [email protected]
    [email protected]

    RE: Proposal to Discuss a Resolution Banning Abortions in the City of Temecula

    Dear Mayor Rahn, Mayor Pro Tem Schwank, and City Council Members:

    It has come to the attention of the Attorney General’s Office that at the September 13,
    2022 meeting of the Temecula City Council, a member of the City Council stated her intent to
    introduce a resolution that would purport to ban abortions in the City of Temecula. It is our
    understanding that such a resolution may be on the agenda for your next City Council meeting on
    September 27, 2022.
    September 23, 2022
    Page 2

    As I am sure you are well aware, local laws may not conflict with state laws. (See Cal.
    Const. art. XI, § 7.) Local legislation that conflicts with the general laws of the state are void.
    (Cohen v. Board of Supervisors (1985) 40 Cal.3d 277, 290; People ex rel Deukmejian v. County
    of Mendocino (1984) 36 Cal.3d 476, 484.) A conflict exists if the ordinance duplicates,
    contradicts, or enters an area occupied by general law, either expressly or by legislative
    implication. (Sherwin-Williams Co. v. City of Los Angeles (1993) 4 Cal.4th 893, 897.)

    The California Legislature and the California Supreme Court have declared time and
    again that California is a reproductive freedom state and that Californians have a right to access
    abortion. In 1981, the California Supreme Court held that “all women in this state rich and poor
    alike possess a fundamental constitutional right to choose whether or not to bear a child.”
    (Comm. to Defend Reprod. Rights v. Myers (1981) 29 Cal.3d 252, 262.) Consistent with this
    precedent, the Legislature enacted the Reproductive Privacy Act (RPA), which codified a
    woman’s fundamental right to procreative choice. (Health & Saf. Code, § 123462.) To that end,
    the Legislature forbid the state “and every county, city, town and municipal corporation” in the
    state from interfering with a woman’s right to choose to bear a child or to obtain an abortion.
    (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 123464, subd. (c), 123466; see also Missionary Guadalupanas of Holy
    Spirit Inv. v. Rouillard (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 421, 435 [abortions are a “basic health care
    service” and must be covered by health plans].)

    Any attempt by the City of Temecula to limit an individual’s ability to exercise their right
    to reproductive choice and bodily autonomy would be a violation of state law. California’s
    Attorney General takes seriously his obligation to protect Californians’ right to reproductive
    freedom. Our office will not hesitate to take legal action should a local regulation conflict with
    California state law.

    Thank you very much.

    Sincerely,

    RENUKA GEORGE
    Senior Assistant Attorney General

    For ROB BONTA


    Attorney General

    cc: Peter Thorson, Shareholder, Richards, Watson, and Gershon, City Attorney for the City of
    Temecula ([email protected])
    SA2022302797
    AG Letter to Temecula-9-23.docx

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