FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 03, 2020

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NARAL Pro-Choice California Looks Forward to Major Victories for Reproductive Freedom on Super Tuesday

CALIFORNIA — Today, dozens of reproductive freedom champions endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice California are on the ballot in the 2020 primary elections in California, including candidates for both State Senate and Assembly.

“NARAL Pro-Choice California will be closely watching our slate of endorsed candidates on the ballot, proven fighters who loudly proclaim their unwavering commitment to reproductive freedom and go above and beyond to stand up for the reproductive rights of all people. The values they exemplify are what our state needs to continue to expand reproductive freedom for every body in California,” said Shannon Hovis, Director of NARAL Pro-Choice California. “With anti-choice politicians across the country lobbing attacks at our fundamental freedoms, California must remain a beacon of hope for reproductive freedom and abortion access.”

Candidates Endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice California Running in Contested Primary Elections or Open Races:

• AD-35: Dawn Addis
• AD-68: Melissa Fox
• AD-72: Deidre Thu-Ha Nguyen
• AD-78: Chris Ward
• SD-13: Shelly Masur
• SD-15: Ann Ravel
• SD-19: Monique Limon
• SD-21: Kipp Mueller
• SD-23: Kris Goodfellow and Abigail Medina (dual endorsement)
• SD-28: Joy Silver and Elizabeth Romero (dual endorsement)
• SD-29: Josh Newman
• SD-37: Katrina Foley

Incumbents Endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice California:

• AD-02: Assemblymember Jim Wood
• AD-15: Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
• AD-16: Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
• AD-17: Assemblymember David Chiu
• AD-18: Assemblymember Rob Bonta
• AD-24: Assemblymember Marc Berman
• AD-43: Assemblymember Laura Friedman
• AD-51: Assemblymember Wendy Carillo
• AD-63: Speaker Anthony Rendon
• AD-74: Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris
• AD-76: Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath
• AD-80: Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez
• SD-09: Senator Nancy Skinner
• SD-11: Senator Scott Wiener
• SD-33: Senator Lena Gonzalez

A 2018 poll by NARAL Pro-Choice California showed that reproductive rights was a key issue for state voters, with eighty percent of respondents saying women’s rights and reproductive freedoms are important to how they vote.

Last year, the California state legislature passed major pieces of legislation to protect and expand reproductive freedom in the state, the College Student Right to Access Act (SB 24), which made California the first state in the nation to expand abortion access to college campuses, and the Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act (SB 464), which will save lives by addressing bias in reproductive healthcare and reducing California’s high rates of pregnancy-related deaths among Black women.

NARAL Pro-Choice California will work closely with new and returning champions for reproductive freedom to advance additional legislation to ensure that California is taking every step possible to allow people to access the full range of reproductive healthcare and make their own decisions about pregnancy and abortion. NARAL has 2.5 million members nationwide with 246,000 in California alone, and has active networks of volunteer leaders in San Diego, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Antelope Valley, and Orange County.

NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all. For more than 50 years, NARAL has worked to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. Since 1969, NARAL has made history, grown to over 2.5 million members, and met the moments that have defined this fight with action, power and freedom.  In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”