Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s policy to provide more abortion education and shut down fraudulent, unaccredited pregnancy centers was voted down by Republican County Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson during the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.

“I do not understand how two men with wives are against educating people in our region on reproductive healthcare,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer. “I am extremely disappointed we cannot take action against these fake, unaccredited, pregnancy centers that are emotionally and physically harming people. I am happy Attorney General Rob Bonta is actively involved in holding these bad actors accountable, and I look forward to supporting him in any way possible.”

In September 2023, legal action was initiated by California State Attorney General Rob Bonta against two California “Crisis Pregnancy Centers.” News reports indicate there are at least 16 Crisis Pregnancy Centers in San Diego County. These are centers that are not medically accredited and are funded and run by anti-abortion activists with a political agenda.

The deadlock means the policy will continue to come back to the Board of Supervisors for a vote at each meeting, unless the author, Supervisor Lawson-Remer, requests it be removed from the agenda. Read the policy here.  

In May 2022, Chairwoman Nora Vargas and Vice Chair Lawson-Remer put forward a resolution at the County which supported enshrining a pregnant person’s right to choose within the California constitution. This resolution foregrounded the importance of an individual’s right to privacy to choose to have an abortion as well as the health impacts and risks of pregnant persons, particularly for individuals living in poverty and people of color who are three times as likely to die in childbirth than white individuals. It committed the County of San Diego to defending and fighting for the right to choose for all who seek care.