Press Release Georgia
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice California Endorses Dr. Akilah Weber in Special Election for California’s 79th Assembly District
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Contact: [email protected]
California — NARAL Pro-Choice California today announced its endorsement of Dr. Akilah Weber in her bid to represent California’s 79th Assembly District in the upcoming special election. Dr. Weber is seeking to fill the seat vacated by former Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber, her mother, who was appointed to serve as California Secretary of State.
“Dr. Akilah Weber is a true champion for reproductive freedom who has devoted her career to closing the gap in access to high-quality reproductive healthcare, particularly for women of color,” said NARAL Pro-Choice California Director Shannon Olivieri Hovis. “NARAL Pro-Choice California is proud to endorse Dr. Weber. We trust her to fight alongside our members to increase access to care, and we look forward to working with her to advance reproductive freedom for all Californians.”
“Many states are attacking women’s reproductive rights and freedom, and that problem is particularly acute for women of color who disproportionately lack access to healthcare and reproductive health services,” said Dr. Akilah Weber. “I became a doctor, and specifically an OB-GYN, because I wanted to help the most vulnerable in society, and I believe that improving women’s health is a keystone for reducing structural inequality. NARAL is and always has been a leader in standing up for our rights, and it means a great deal to me to have NARAL’s support in this campaign. Thank you for your support, and for the work you do every day.”
Dr. Weber is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist who founded and currently directs the Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology Division at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. She also leads the adolescent gynecology program at UC San Diego Health and serves as assistant clinical professor in its Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences.
NARAL Pro-Choice California has more than 295,000 members across the state and action councils located in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, the Antelope Valley, and the Bay Area. The organization’s 2020 electoral program in California protected critical seats flipped in 2018 and helped safeguard the nation’s first-ever U.S. House majority in support of reproductive freedom.
Although California is a leader in reproductive freedom and healthcare innovation, 40% of its counties do not have an abortion provider, and nine counties do not have a single OB-GYN. These barriers to access disproportionately harm BIPOC, low-income, and rural communities.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.