The city of Beverly Hills has agreed to train its employees on abortion clinic protections after local officials interfered with the opening of an abortion clinic in \u201cblatant\u201d violation of state law, according to a proposed settlement to be unveiled Thursday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.<\/p>\n
Bonta\u2019s office said the city\u2019s then-mayor, city attorney, and city manager pressured DuPont Clinic\u2019s landlord last spring to cancel the lease and that city officials also delayed permits to the clinic. They went so far as to warn the building owner that it could be liable for bomb threats and shootings at the medical office building in the wealthy city\u2019s business district.<\/p>\n
The Washington, D.C.-based reproductive health provider is one of a handful<\/a> of clinics nationwide that advertise abortions past 28 weeks of gestation. It had secured a lease and begun preparations to open a second U.S. location in Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n Concerned about potential anti-abortion protests and negative media coverage, city officials \u201cengaged in a pressure campaign under the guise of public safety,\u201d according to Bonta\u2019s complaint. The actions \u201cblatantly violated\u201d state law, Bonta said in the complaint. It\u2019s the state\u2019s first action under the voter-passed initiative known as Proposition 1, which enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a stark reminder that there are efforts right here in California to undermine reproductive freedom,\u201d Bonta said in an interview with KFF Health News ahead of the announcement. \u201cThese are city officials who took an oath to uphold the state constitution and state law, and they did the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n In signing the agreement, the city did not admit fault or liability. In a statement, Mayor Lester Friedman said the city disagreed with the allegations in the attorney general\u2019s complaint.<\/p>\n \u201cBeverly Hills is already home to medical facilities that offer complete reproductive health services,\u201d Friedman said in a statement. \u201cThe city reaffirms and pledges that it did not and will not discriminate against any reproductive healthcare provider and strongly supports a woman\u2019s right to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the agreement which has been approved by the Beverly Hills City Council and must be approved by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, city officials will be required to train employees about state and federal protections for abortion clinics, create a protocol for handling complaints of potential violations, and appoint a \u201creproductive justice compliance officer\u201d to manage the training program and materials.<\/p>\n California prohibits abortions past the point of fetal viability, around 24 weeks, except in cases in which the life or health of the woman is at risk. Proposition 1 strengthened reproductive freedom protections in the state constitution.<\/p>\n Approved by an overwhelming majority of statewide voters in 2022, the law says that the state, and by extension local governments, \u201cshall not deny or interfere with an individual\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Bonta said the measure, which at the time was widely regarded as a largely symbolic measure in deeply progressive California, provided a strong legal basis for the state\u2019s case against the city of Beverly Hills and led directly to the settlement agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are protections, both constitutional and statutory, that protect reproductive freedom in California,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cCities need to honor and follow those rights and protections and when they\u2019re not, we will get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n DuPont Clinic had announced plans in October 2022 to expand to the Los Angeles area, according to Bonta\u2019s office. The following month, flyers opposing the clinic\u2019s opening appeared in and around the building.<\/p>\n Beverly Hills police officials later drafted a plan to send a letter to other tenants of the building warning them of the potential security risks, something Bonta said they\u2019d never done with previous properties targeted by protesters.<\/p>\n The city attorney instructed city officials to not issue permits to DuPont until he\u2019d spoken with the clinic about \u201cwhether the proposed use is allowed or not.\u201d He later suggested DuPont provide a letter \u201cconfirming its intention to comply with California law\u201d as it relates to abortions later in pregnancy.<\/p>\n \u201cThey acted differently and inserted themselves in delayed permits and launching a pressure campaign based on the fact that reproductive freedom is at stake,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cThey targeted DuPont because of the fact that it provided fully legal reproductive health care.\u201d<\/p>\n During a City Council meeting in April 2023, City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey sent an email to council members alerting them of the controversy over the new clinic, just before several activists spoke in opposition. The clinic could, she warned, \u201cbe the focus of protests, rallies and unfortunately other more violent actions on occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did this get through?\u201d council member Sharona Nazarian immediately wrote back.<\/p>\n Hunt-Coffey replied: \u201cWell, it\u2019s a private business renting space in a private building. \u00a0We don\u2019t have anything in our code that prevents it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n What followed was a series of attempts by then-mayor Julian Gold, Hunt-Coffey, and the Beverly Hills police chief to stymie the clinic\u2019s opening, Bonta said. Gold and the police chief met with building owner Douglas Emmett Inc., warning that the clinic could become a \u201clightning rod\u201d for the city and that the landlord would be \u201cresponsible\u201d and \u201cliable\u201d if anything were to happen. Gold also raised the possibility of bomb threats and active shooters, and the safety of other tenants in the building.<\/p>\n The clinic never opened.<\/p>\n Bonta said his office is prepared to go after local governments that shirk their responsibility to uphold state laws that protect abortion rights. He also suggested he would support amending state law to levy financial penalties on those who violate it.<\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n