Dear Senator Monique Limón,

My name is Jessica Reilly. I am not a constituent in your district. I am not even a

constituent in California. What I am is an incredibly concerned college-aged student who thinks

that you can help women like me.

When I decided where to attend college four years ago, access to reproductive resources

did not cross my mind a single time - even as an active reproductive rights advocate and aspiring

political science student. Two years after I made my decision and Roe v. Wade was repealed, I

felt gratitude for choosing the University of California, Santa Barbara. I was safe here, right? I

thought of the women whose educational choices left them feeling scared in states that did not

protect their human right to choose, and selfishly I found relief that I wasn’t them. Many

California residents, like those in my home state of Massachusetts, see our state's pro-choice

legislative protections and feel that same simplistic gratitude. However, while protecting the

right to choose, these protections have also put a target on California’s back for anti-abortion

efforts. In the post-Roe era that we find ourselves in today, California’s protections still leave

plenty of room for Crisis Pregnancy Centers to manipulate women seeking resources. These

centers are where pro-life efforts are shooting their arrows, and their hitting the bullseye.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines Crisis Pregnancy

Centers (CPCs) as “facilities that represent themselves as legitimate reproductive health care

clinics” yet “dissuade people from accessing certain types of reproductive health care, including

abortion care and even contraceptive options” (ACOG). They are often not medically licensed

and therefore not required by law to provide their pregnant patients with accurate information

(ACOG). Even worse, they are not required to follow HIPAA confidentiality regulations and can

share patient information with the antiabortion national organizations that fund, train, and
support them (ACOG). These pro-choice nonprofits and donors are wasting no time cropping up

across the state. In fact, it's been reported with pride by directors of these facilities that donations

are flooding in at an all-time high (LA Times). They may look like luxury salons with “hot pink

furniture and gold-trimmed mirrors”, but the thousands spent on security cameras, bulletproof

glass, and graffiti-resistant paint are shielding a much uglier reality. Omitting the science of

reproductive health resources, misinforming on the medically unsupported harms of abortion,

pushing the unethical practice of abortion reversal pills, and making patients feel pressured into

the life-defining choice to have a child are the realities of these centers. District 19 is no

exception with the CPC, Network Medical, just a 5-minute drive from the UCSB campus.

Posing a threat to the state and your district, CPCs have made one thing abundantly clear:

just because abortion is legal in the State of California does not mean that it is accessible to all.

There are numerically 176 crisis pregnancy centers in California compared to the 168 abortion

clinics in the state. But the real problem is not in the numbers. The manipulation is in how these

centers are being strategically dispersed. Currently, under two-thirds of California counties have

an abortion clinic (CalMatters). This creates what can be called “reproductive health deserts”

(CalMatters). Swooping in to exploit the community's need for reproductive health resources has

become the tactic for Crisis Pregnancy Centers. They have been incredibly successful in doing

so, as 80% of California counties have at least one crisis pregnancy center (CalMatters). In

summary, these centers are being placed in areas where women already do not have another

option or force countering misinformation. These areas are overwhelmingly rural, low-income,

and minority communities–creating concerns of oppression. Age is another aspect that generates

the community's need for resources and a susceptibility to misinformation–an especially

pertinent point for your district.

 The 19th District is home to many–business owners, farmers, families–but what is not

included in the district’s official demographic is its population of tens of thousands of college

students. Encompassing large public institutions such as UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara

Community College, many young women like myself come here to grow our minds and start our

futures on the right foot. Coming of age away from home can be exciting, but also confusing and

challenging. For many, we are learning about our bodies for the first time, navigating our

sexuality, and getting in and out of romantic relationships. It’s a chaotic time that puts us in an

especially vulnerable position to be misinformed. As a former advisor and mentor to UCSB and

SBCC students and former Assistant Director of UCSB’s McNair Scholars Program–you know

this truth better than anyone. Misinforming and manipulating that’s just what Crisis Pregnancy

Centers in the area are exploiting. It is with your shared understanding of college-aged women

that I ask you to not just empathize but to act on our behalf.

I am aware that my demands are easier said than done, for the Supreme Court struck

down the Freedom, Accessibility, Comprehensive Care and Transparency (FACT) Act in 2018.

As you are familiar, the FACT Act required reproductive health centers to notify clients about

abortion and birth control options as well as inform them if they were an unlicensed center.

However, because Justice Thomas and the Supreme Court felt this infringed on the free speech

of petitioners–creating legislation that won’t be debated in Washington, D.C. seems impossible.

Tried and failed again last legislative session was AB-315, aiming to regulate the advertisement

of false or misleading reproductive statements by centers (California Legislative Information).

The recent history of reproductive rights feels undoubtedly hopeless. However, identifying

yourself as a legislator who prioritizes women’s issues and formerly serving as the Vice-Chair of

the Legislative Women’s Caucus, you do not get to give up on us too. You recently helped pass
SB 280 which required large group insurance policies to cover basic care services like abortion.

This was a great win for reproductive accessibility, but that work cannot come to reality when

women across the state and district continue to be pressured and misinformed. That is why, based

on the policy recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, I

urge you to do three things. I urge you to issue a warning to constituents in the 19th District

about Crisis Pregnancy Centers, listing all those in the distinct, to create greater awareness and

lower susceptibility. I urge you to invest state funds in the “legitimate, comprehensive

reproductive health services” that college-aged students, and many young adults in the district

need. By better funding legitimate medical centers, the community's need for reproductive

resources can be reduced and the impact of CPCs can be mitigated. Lastly, I ask that you

demonstrate legislative persistence for your constituents in authoring a bill that strengthens

“consumer protection laws against false and misleading advertising” about abortion services.

These requests are big. However, against the aggressive agendas and funding of national

anti-abortion organizations, we must be big in our courage too. The next generations are

depending on us. I hope I can have a daughter when I decide I’m ready. I hope she’ll go off to

college where she’ll learn who she is and grow into the best version of herself. I hope she never

faces the fear of an unplanned pregnancy–but if she does, she’ll be met with the legitimate truths

and resources she needs to find what is best for her. I hope that with your help, and that of the

California Legislature, Crisis Pregnancy Centers become a thing of the past.

Thank you,

Jessica Reilly
 Bibliography

AGOC. (n.d.). Issue brief: Crisis pregnancy centers. ACOG.

https://www.acog.org/advocacy/abortion-is-essential/trending-issues/issue-brief-crisis-preg

nancy-centers

California State Legislature. (2023, January 5). Bill Text - AB-315 False advertising:

abortion. California Legislative Information.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB315

Hwang, K. (2023, June 16). Why “crisis pregnancy centers” will be California’s next

abortion battleground. CalMatters.

https://calmatters.org/health/2023/06/crisis-pregnancy-centers-california/

Los Angeles Times. (2023, May 28). Even in Blue California, attempts to regulate

controversial antiabortion centers continue to fail. Los Angeles Times.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-28/anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers-are-

expanding-as-californias-attempts-at-regulation-fail

State of California. (2024, March 1). Monique Limón Official Website. Senator Monique

Limón. https://sd19.senate.ca.gov/