Davis Shifts Stance, Backs State-Funded Abortions for Poor

In a significant shift, state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia) acknowledged Tuesday that despite his longstanding opposition to abortion, he now supports taxpayers financing the procedure for poor women.

Davis said in an interview that during his nine years as a lawmaker, he has opposed spending public dollars on abortions. But he said he now regards it as hypocritical for the Medi-Cal program to pay for every medical procedure except abortion for indigent women.

Davis’ shift was hailed by a pro-choice advocate as a breakthrough that could indicate a change in thinking among Republican lawmakers. A spokeswoman for an anti-abortion group said the loss of Davis’ vote could be critical to their cause.

In a recent letter to two Canoga Park constituents, Davis said: “As long as some abortions remain legal, there is no moral or equitable basis for making them available to rich women and not to the poor.”

Davis acknowledged in the letter that his position would not please some of his constituents. “However, I was elected to make hard choices and, in this case, to balance two very important rights, the right of a viable unborn child to live and the right of a woman to decide to give birth.”

‘Intellectual Dishonesty’

He said Tuesday: “I don’t point my politics toward trying to please the mob. The thing that offends me more than anything else up here . . . is the distinct presence of intellectual dishonesty, so I say what I think.”

Both sides on the abortion issue say Davis’ shift will be key in future Senate debates because legislation to eliminate funding for Medi-Cal abortions is typically passed by slim margins in the upper house.

But Davis appears to have a leg in both camps on the abortion issue. While staking out his new position, Davis also said he plans to introduce a bill next year to ban abortions after the 24th week of a pregnancy except when the woman’s life is endangered or the fetus is brain-dead.

Davis said such legislation could face an uphill battle. Lawmakers are increasingly under pressure to enact abortion legislation in the wake of the U. S. Supreme Court decision on July 3 to give states greater freedom to restrict abortions. Also, earlier this month, abortion rights advocates took credit for a pro-choice Republican’s narrow victory in a special primary election to fill an Assembly seat near San Diego. The election was the first state legislative contest in California since the Supreme Court ruling.

Senate Floor Debate

Davis, a former Los Angeles police chief, said he first announced his position earlier during a Senate floor debate. Previously, Davis had said he opposes abortion but also opposes a constitutional amendment banning all abortions.

Norma K. Clevenger, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, described Davis’ shift as a breakthrough, partly because it could signal a shift in thinking by GOP lawmakers, many of whom traditionally have opposed abortion. Clevenger said it is important because Davis is “well-respected . . . he’s been very independent.”

Jan Carroll, lobbyist for the National Right to Life Committee, acknowledged that because abortion funding is rejected by close margins, “we obviously can’t afford to lose any votes” in the Senate.

Carroll said she disagreed with Davis. To allow poor women to have abortions, she said, “you have to see abortion as a benefit, and we don’t see abortion as a benefit for rich or poor women.” She maintained that Davis is not “helping poor women by offering to kill their children.”

As for Davis’ proposal to ban abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy, she said, such a plan would affect only about 1% of the procedures performed annually in California. “To us, that’s still a significant number of children but a tiny number of those killed,” she said.