Rushed Judgments: Vote no on California's Proposition 1

There are 52 races and ballot propositions for Los Angeles County at the 2022 general election. No person can possibly make informed judgments on so many items. So I'm spending 5 to 10 minutes looking at each issue and giving you my decision. 

No matter how you vote on Prop. 1, one thing is for sure: It won't matter. Prop. 1 is going to pass easily no matter what anyone says or does.

That's because Prop. 1 is aimed at enshrining the right to abortion in the California Constitution, and a strong majority of Californians support abortion. And since the Supreme Court invalidated Roe v Wade, the passion to support abortion rights in California is stronger than ever. 

So if I had half a clue about the phrase "pick your battles," I would just ignore this proposal and move on. 

No one has ever accused me of having a clue, or even half of one, so let me outline the reasons that Prop. 1 is a bad idea. 

First, you're being played. Abortion is already legal in California, so why this proposition? There's a lot of evidence that the Prop. 1 is a political ploy by the Democratic Party to increase turnout at the election. Bring a hot-button issue to the ballot, the logic goes, and liberal voters will show up.

You may not mind being a political pawn, but you should be concerned about the vague wording of Prop. 1. The short measure says, "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.”

Read that a couple times (if you can get past the bad grammar) and you'll notice a few things. For one, while proponents state that this measure is about abortion, it could have a lot wider impact.  Abortion and contraceptive access are only listed as examples of "an individual's reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions."

The bill's opponents say this measure will override state law and allow late-term abortions. Proponents deny that. Here's the deal: No one really knows because the measure is so vague. 

What else is included? Could this have an impact on in-vitro fertilization, pregnancy leave, or sex-change operations? Again, no one really knows.

If we're enshrining a right in the state constitution, shouldn't we be clear on what it does? If we don't we will leave it up to judges to decide what it means.

Yes, I know a lot of us are outraged over abortion law changes in other states. But that doesn't mean we need to rush a vague and poorly written constitutional amendment into the California constitution

How about if we just take a breath, step back and write a clearly written measure that clearly states what we want.