Abortion.ca.gov
This is a New Official California State Website - Really
Actually and seriously – this is a government website.
Now, this piece is not primarily about the abortion debate, pro-life or pro-choice. This is not about calls for free abortion on demand in the third trimester or forcing women to bear the child of their rapist, or any of the dilemmas in-between.
Personally I believe that an abortion should not be paid for with tax dollars and simultaneously be a safe procedure, it does end a life and should never be treated lightly and never be the “first” option, but it must remain available - to sum up, involving the government in almost any way in such a personally wrenching decision is not a good idea, whether it be abortion or pulling the plug of a family member (well, most family members.)
No, this about the very idea of the state of California having an abortion website in the first place.
To paraphrase “The Princess Bride” – Inconceivable! - until now.
Mixed in with the other state websites – the DMV, the tax board, the arts council, the CHP, etc. – is now a site dedicated to promoting one of the most controversial issues of the past 50 years.
And here is the actual link - https://abortion.ca.gov/ - and here is Governor Gavin Newsom’s press release announcing the launch - https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/09/13/california-launches-abortion-ca-gov/ .
The site details the state’s commitment to the procedure, how it’s free if you have state insurance, how anyone in the state – legally or illegally, resident or not – has a right to an abortion, and so on.
For a deep dive on the issue, check out the California Globe piece on the matter - https://californiaglobe.com/articles/california-governor-launches-abortion-ca-gov/
One can only imagine what other dedicated sites could be appearing soon – godisdead.ca.gov, worshipfuljesus.ca.gov, freefentenylintervention.ca.gov, happyearthquake.ca.gov, heretrythisdoesittastebadtoyou.ca.gov, howtobecomehomeless.ca.gov and any number of other “touchy subjects” may attract California’s political blob and lead to the state to taking a public stance on even more controversial topics.
Of course, considering the truly archaic computer systems (remember the state’s unemployment agency’s loss of $30 billion to fraud -
and
it is quite possible that going to the abortion.ca.gov website may result in getting an appointment for six years from now, pretty much defeating the point.
Update - the state is doubling down on the effort and has put up billboards in “red states” advertising the website - https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3644924-newsom-launches-red-state-billboard-campaign-touting-abortion-access-in-california/