NARAL Pro-Choice America Responds to Reporting that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will Retire
NARAL Pro-Choice America Responds to Reporting that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will Retire
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice California Endorses Laura Friedman, Caroline Menjivar, and Rick Chavez Zbur for Election to California’s Legislature
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
These three candidates earn endorsements from the state’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy group
Sacramento—NARAL Pro-Choice California today announced its endorsements of Assemblymember Laura Friedman for reelection to Assembly District 44, Caroline Menjivar for election to Senate District 20, and Rick Chavez Zbur for election to Assembly District 51. These endorsements come as NARAL Pro-Choice California, as part of the California Freedom for Abortion Council (CA FAB Council), works with policymakers to prepare for the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade later this year. California must be ready to continue to fight back against threats to reproductive freedom and expand abortion access in the state.
NARAL Pro-Choice America Vice President of Communications & Research Kristin Ford said:
“California is a Reproductive Freedom State, and the past year has made it abundantly clear that we must protect and expand abortion access in California amid countless attacks on reproductive freedom across the country. We need lawmakers who will be unwavering in their commitment to safeguarding our most fundamental freedoms. NARAL Pro-Choice California is proud to endorse these candidates who are dedicated to ensuring we all have the freedom to decide if, when, and how to raise a family. Our nearly 300,000 members across California are ready to help send them to Sacramento.”
In 2021, Assemblymember Laura Freidman received an A+ in NARAL Pro-Choice California’s Reproductive Freedom Legislative Scorecard. Assemblymember Freidman coauthored SB 379, the Equitable and Inclusive UC Healthcare Act, a NARAL Pro-Choice California-sponsored bill to ensure that the University of California Health System (UC) providers and trainees are able to provide comprehensive healthcare, including reproductive and LGBTQ-inclusive care, at all facilities where UC providers practice. She is a member of the California Women’s Legislative Caucus, which recently announced a partnership with the CA FAB Council to expand abortion access in the state.
Assemblymember Laura Freidman said:
“In California, we’ve had a long history of defending reproductive rights. However, we also know that simply having the legal right to abortion isn’t enough. It is upon all of us to continue the fight and to take bold stances on healthcare access, women’s rights, and true equity. NARAL has been a unparalleled leader in this fight and my partner in Sacramento. I thank them whole-heartedly for their support of my reelection, so that we can continue our work for all Californians.”
Caroline Menjivar currently serves as Director of New Program Initiatives at MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), an organization dedicated to addressing poverty in the San Fernando Valley. She is on the board of GLSEN’s LA Chapter, as well as The Help Group’s Kaleidoscope’s board, where she advocates for K-12 LGBTQ youth. She previously served as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s LGBTQ+ liaison, the East Valley Representative for Mayor Garcetti, and as a field deputy with Councilwoman Nury Martinez’s office.
Caroline Menjivar said:
“I am honored to have received the endorsement from NARAL CA Privacy PAC. I proudly support full reproductive freedom for everyone. For too long, reproductive rights have been unfairly under attack at every level of government. With abortion rights facing an uncertain future with our current Supreme Court, we need champions for gender equity and reproductive justice in our State Senate. I look forward to partnering with NARAL in this fight.”
Rick Chavez Zbur is the former executive director of Equality California, where he has led efforts to advance civil rights and social justice for the LGBTQ community. Through his leadership at Equality California, Zbur has fought to protect reproductive freedom, protect immigrant health, enact gun safety laws and criminal justice reform, advocate for economic justice, and provide universal healthcare coverage. Zbur serves on the national board of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund as well as the board of Planned Parenthood, Los Angeles.
Rick Chavez Zbur said:
“I am tremendously honored and grateful to have earned the support of the champions for reproductive freedom at NARAL Pro-Choice California. Now more than ever, I am deeply committed to standing alongside the incredible activists that power NARAL in the fight to ensure that everyone in this country has access to reproductive care and complete control of their own body and healthcare decisions. I’m proud that during my time at EQCA, I worked shoulder to shoulder with NARAL to protect and expand access to reproductive care in rural parts of California, where abortion access and reproductive healthcare are under threat from religiously-affiliated healthcare providers who deny care and are often the only provider in the area. In the State Legislature, look forward to continuing to work together to ensure California is a safe place for any American seeking reproductive care.”
These candidates have earned the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice California Privacy PAC, the statewide, nonpartisan, pro-choice political action committee leading the effort to elect leaders and champions for reproductive freedom in California.
###
For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, 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 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.