On April 19, 2022, California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 2223 – or as pro-lifers call it, the "Infanticide Bill" and the "most destructive pro-abortion bill in the nation" – passed in the CA Assembly Health Committee with a vote of 11 - 3. Introduced in February 2022, the bill, authored by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and championed by Planned Parenthood, has received significant pushback from the citizens of CA.
(John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The opposition couldn't have been louder or clearer as thousands of Californians gathered at the Golden State's Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday. With signs reading, "There's no excuse to kill a baby!" and "Stop Infanticide," there was no shortage of outrage over the bill or passion for protecting life. Officially titled "Reproductive Health," AB 2223 supposedly aims at ensuring innocent mothers aren't prosecuted in cases of misscarriage or an infant's tragic death, but instead, it goes far beyond that. The controversial bill is not only staunchly pro-abortion, legalizing the procedure at any point during pregnancy, but with the use of the term "perinatal death," the bill essentially legalizes killing an infant as old as 28 days, as long as the circumstances surrounding the death can be deemed as a "pregnancy-related cause."
As seen in a tweet from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the organization is in full support of AB 2223 and praised Buffy Wicks for "advocating for reproductive justice." Since Planned Parenthood is America's leading provider of abortion and has much to economically gain from the passage of this law, this is a comraderie that, at the very least, should raise questions.
As observed at the capitol, critics of the bill point out the blatant and problematic ambiguity of AB 2223, citing the broad medical definition of "perinatal" and the easily-abused justification of a"pregnancy-related cause." One opponent, Pastor Jack Hibbs of Chino Hills, CA, a survivor of abortion himself, said this while sitting before the Assembly Health Committee:
"We are talking about, in a sense, legalizing murder, because nobody can investigate… nobody can determine how this child died... A woman could be depressed or confused after pregnancy and during that time, the child is dead. Why? We need to find out why. It’s not to prosecute or bring anything against anyone, but it’s the value of human life."
Abortion survivor Jack Hibbs speaks against AB 2223.
Although proponents of AB 2223 claim the concern over infanticide is "paranoia" and "ridiculous," another California resident and an OB-GYN with 31 years of practice, Dr. Vansen Wong, noted that the concern is not so far-fetched:
"The moral acceptance of killing babies is gaining popularity, promoted most recently by Professor Peter Singer of Princeton University. He stated, 'Of course, infanticide needs to be strictly, legally controlled and rare but it should not be ruled out anymore than abortion.'"
Dr. Wong is not wrong in his assessment. In fact, the said Princeton University professor isn't the only esteemed academic who espouses such disturbing views. Jeffrey Reiman, a philosophy professor at American Univerity, similarly declared that infants, unlike mature human beings, do not "possess in their own right a property that makes it wrong to kill them."
Given that "legal infanticide" is acceptable to some (college professors no less) and the fact that AB 2223 is a piece of legislation seeking to rule out the investigations of "perinatal death," it is no wonder so many Californians are alarmed and making their objections known.
Dr. Wong, an OB-GYN, passionately opposes the "Infanticide Bill."
AB 2223 now moves to the Appropriations Committee and Red Liberty Media will keep you updated as it moves through the legislative process. Opponents to the bill are urging CA citizens to continue vocalizing their opinions by contacting the members of the committee.
You can also track AB 2223 by visiting the website leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.