The city of San Francisco announces that, as a city, they will no longer be doing business with 22 states due to “severe anti-choice policies.” A new city ordinance prohibits city employees from traveling to these states for business dealings and making any new dealings with businesses headquartered in them.
The states San Francisco is prohibiting business and travel with are those with “restrictive abortion laws.” The ordinance defines restrictive abortion laws as “those that restrict abortion before viability of the fetus to live outside of the womb, including so-called ‘fetal heartbeat’ laws.”
Mayor London Breed announced in a statement:
“Every day in this country, women’s reproductive rights are threatened, and we have to fight back. Just as we restricted spending with states that have laws that discriminate against LGBTQ people, we are standing up against states that put women’s health at risk and that are actively working to limit reproductive freedoms. By limiting travel and contracting with certain states, we are sending a clear message to states that disregard the right to abortion. I want to thank Supervisor Brown for leading this important effort, and all of the organizations who supported this work.”
The blacklisted states that ban or limit abortion before 24 weeks, are:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin.
The ordnance goes into effect on January 1st, 2020. City leaders hope these restrictions will cause other cities and states to “follow the lead.”
The statement reads:
“Although tax revenue from San Francisco alone may not be sufficient to encourage states to rethink their laws, if other cities and states follow San Francisco’s lead, the financial pressure might be enough to prompt policy changes.”
