‘Pressure campaign’: Beverly Hills calms down after alleged blockade of abortion clinic

Under a settlement proposal expected to be presented Thursday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the city of Beverly Hills has agreed to train its employees to protect an abortion clinic after local officials interfered with the opening of an abortion clinic in a “flagrant” violation of state law . .

Bonta’s office said last spring the then-mayor, prosecutor and city manager pressured the DuPont clinic’s owner to terminate its lease, and city officials also delayed issuing permits for the clinic. They even went so far as to warn the building owner that he might be responsible for bomb threats and shootings at a medical office building in the city’s wealthy business district.

It is a reproductive health services provider based in Washington, DC one of the few clinics across the country advertising abortion after 28 weeks of pregnancy. It obtained a lease agreement and began preparations to open a second location in Beverly Hills, USA.

Bonta’s complaint says that, concerned about potential anti-abortion protests and negative media coverage, city officials “engaged in a pressure campaign under the guise of public safety.” Bonta said in the complaint that the actions “flagrantly violate” state law. This is the state’s first action under a voter-passed initiative known as Proposition 1, which enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.

“This is a stark reminder that there are efforts underway here in California to undermine reproductive freedom,” Bonta said in an interview with KFF Health News before the announcement. “These are city officials who took an oath to uphold the state constitution and state law, and they did the opposite.”

By signing the contract, the city did not admit guilt or liability. In a statement, Mayor Lester Friedman said the city disagrees with the allegations in the attorney general’s complaint.

“Beverly Hills already has medical facilities offering comprehensive reproductive health services,” Friedman said in a statement. “The City affirms and promises that it has not and will not discriminate against any reproductive health care provider and strongly supports a woman’s right to choose.”

Under the agreement, which was approved by the Beverly Hills City Council and must be approved by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, city officials will be required to train employees on state and federal protections for abortion clinics, create a protocol for handling complaints of potential violations, and designate a “policy officer.” “compliance with reproductive rights”, who will manage the training program and materials.

California prohibits abortions after fetal viability, around 24 weeks, except in cases where the woman’s life or health is at risk. Proposition 1 strengthened protections for reproductive freedom in the state constitution.

The law, approved in 2022 by an overwhelming majority of statewide voters, states that the state and, by extension, local governments “shall not deny to an individual his reproductive freedom or interfere with his most intimate decisions, which includes his fundamental right to choose to have a child.” abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse the use of contraceptives.

Bonta stated that the measure, which at the time was widely considered a largely symbolic measure in deeply progressive California, provided a solid legal basis for the state’s case against the city of Beverly Hills and led directly to the settlement.

“There are protections, both constitutional and statutory, that protect reproductive freedom in California,” Bonta said. “Cities must respect and comply with these laws and protections, and if they don’t, we will get involved.”

DuPont Clinic announced plans to expand into the Los Angeles area in October 2022, according to Bonta’s office. The following month, leaflets opposing the opening of the clinic appeared in and around the building.

Beverly Hills police officers later developed a plan to send a letter to other tenants in the building warning them of potential safety hazards, something Bonta said she had never done with previous properties targeted by protesters.

The city attorney has instructed city officials not to issue permits to DuPont until he talks to the clinic about “whether the proposed use is permitted or not.” He later suggested that DuPont issue a letter “affirming its intent to comply with California law” regarding abortions later in pregnancy.

“They behaved differently and delayed the issuance of permits and launched a pressure campaign based on the fact that reproductive freedom is at stake,” Bonta said. “They attacked DuPont because it provided fully legal reproductive health care.”

During the April 2023 City Council meeting, City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey sent an email to council members warning them about the controversy surrounding the new clinic, just before several activists spoke in opposition. She warned that the clinic could “be a site of protests, rallies and, unfortunately, at times other, more violent activities.”

“How did it get over?” council member Sharona Nazarian responded immediately.

Hunt-Coffey replied: “Well, it’s a private company renting space in a private building. There is nothing in our code that prohibits this…”

What followed was a series of attempts by then-Mayor Julian Gold, Hunt-Coffey and the Beverly Hills police chief to thwart the opening of the clinic, Bonta added. Gold and the police chief met with the building’s owner, Douglas Emmett Inc., warning that the clinic could become a “lightning rod” for the city and that the owner would be “responsible” and “liable” if something happened. Gold also raised the possibility of a bomb threat and active shooter threats, as well as the safety of other building occupants.

The clinic never opened.

Bonta said his office is ready to go after local governments that shirk their responsibility to follow state laws protecting abortion rights. He also suggested he would support changing state law to impose financial penalties on those who violate it.

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