In yet another step toward more open access to abortion in New Jersey – including keeping parents in the dark about their minor children seeking an abortion – legislation was scheduled for a Dec. 14 hearing, prompting a plea to ask state senators to oppose the bill.
With the vote on the bill S2918/A4350 now scheduled for mid-December, the New Jersey Catholic Conference issued an action alert urging voters to reach out to their representatives. The alert may be accessed at https://www.njcatholic.org/faith-in-action.
The New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee introduced the bill in June 23, 2022 – the day before the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision was overturned and abortion rights were returned to the state level.
The bill allocates a recurring $20 million in New Jersey taxpayer dollars for a Reproductive Access Fund that would be dispersed automatically each year: $5 million for abortion training to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse abortion providers; $5 million in grants for security personnel and law enforcement personnel at abortion-providing facilities, and $10 million to provide free taxpayer-funded abortions for residents and non-residents who don’t have insurance.
In a further move toward abortion access, S2918 also requires state-sponsored health insurance plans to cover 100 percent of the cost of abortions, allows minors to procure an abortion without parental consent or notification, and allows medical personnel to perform abortions in an office setting regardless of the mother’s stage of pregnancy.
“If your state senator serves on the committee that will determine if S2918 will advance in the Legislature, we urge you to contact her/him now and ask them to vote ‘NO’ on this harmful bill,” the action alert stated.
“For this bill to become law, it would need to clear both the Senate and Assembly health committees,” said James King, NJCC executive director, in an email to Catholic media outlets. Currently only the Senate has posted the bill for a hearing; the Assembly does not currently have it on this week’s agenda. “After this week, the Legislature is scheduled to meet four times before the end of the current legislative session.”
Founded in 1949, the New Jersey Catholic Conference represents the seven Catholic Bishops of New Jersey on public policy matters. NJCC serves as a liaison to governmental agencies and institutions and coordinates public policy communications and activities among the dioceses and between the Bishops and secular agencies. There are more than 3.5 million Catholics registered throughout New Jersey.