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The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
California voters will decide in November whether to guarantee the right to an abortion in their state constitution, a question sure to boost turnout on both sides of the debate during a pivotal midterm election year as Democrats try to keep control of Congress after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The court's ruling on Friday lets states decide for themselves whether to allow abortion. California is controlled by Democrats who support abortion rights, so access to the procedure won't be threatened anytime soon.
But the legal right to an abortion in California is based upon the “right to privacy” in the state constitution. The Supreme Court's ruling declared that a right to privacy does not guarantee the right to an abortion. California Democrats fear this ruling could leave the state's abortion laws vulnerable to challenge in state courts.
To address that, state lawmakers on Monday agreed to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot this year that would leave no doubt about the status of abortion in California.
“While for now we may feel safe here in California, we cannot rest on our laurels,” said Assembly member Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Riverside. “It is only a matter of time before this will directly affect you and the people you love.”
The amendment would declare that the state “shall not deny or interfere with an individual's reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”
It would become law only if a majority of voters approve it this November. Of California's likely voters, 76% oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a poll conducted in May by the Public Policy Institute of California.
That could give a boost to Democrats' chances of retaining control of Congress. Despite its progressive reputation, California has a number of competitive House races that will help determine which party wins the most seats in November for the remainder of Democratic President Joe Biden's first term.
Republicans opposed the amendment, arguing it is too broad and would allow for abortions late in pregnancy when a fetus is capable of surviving outside of the womb. California law currently restricts abortion to only before a fetus is viable, which is usually defined as around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“The wording of this says nothing about late term. It puts no restrictions on it,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, who noted his twin sons had complications at about 30 weeks of pregnancy. “Babies like my twins at 30 weeks, their lives could be taken.”
Assembly member Akilah Weber, a Democrat from San Diego and practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, said many factors other than the gestational age of the fetus determine viability, arguing the decision is best left to the patient and her doctor.
“This amendment ... is not only compassionate, but it is rooted in the current state of science, evidence-based medicine and the legal landscape,” she said.
California joins Vermont in trying to protect abortion in its state constitution. The Vermont proposal, also on the ballot this November, does not include the word “abortion” but would protect “personal reproductive autonomy” - although there is an exception “justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
The amendment in California is part of Democrats' aggressive strategy to make California a sanctuary for women seeking abortions. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law aimed at shielding California abortion providers and volunteers from lawsuits in other states - a measure aimed at blunting a Texas law that allows private citizens to sue people who help women in that state get an abortion.
California's massive operating budget - scheduled for a vote later this week - contains more than $200 million in new spending to expand access to abortion in the state. The money would pay for abortions for women who can't afford them, scholarships for people studying how to provide abortions and money to help women pay for logistics like travel, lodging and child care - but only within the state of California.
Monday's abortion debate in the state Legislature was colored with the emotion of personal experiences as many lawmakers detailed their own experiences with abortion. Assembly member Buffy Wicks said she chose abortion during an unplanned pregnancy when she was 25, and it allowed her “to have a family when I was ready.”
Assembly member Isaac Bryan said his mother “got pregnant from a rape” and chose to have him and put him up for adoption.
“I get asked all the time why that doesn't make me pro-life,” Bryan said. “It's because my mother had options. She had choices, and they were hers to make. And I refuse to be tokenized to undermine the bodily autonomy of women and childbearing people.”
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal 'misguided' and 'disastrous.'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.