California assemblywoman reveals abortion as more women speak out

SACRAMENTO » A California legislator who is the wife of state Attorney General Rob Bonta disclosed Tuesday that she had an abortion as a 21-year old.

Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta joins a growing number of public officials, celebrities and musicians who have discussed their experiences after a leaked draft opinion suggested that the U.S. Supreme Court could strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Speaking at a state Capitol event supporting reproductive rights, Bonta said she was coming out of Yale University and had obtained her first job when she learned she was pregnant. She was dating her future husband at the time — Bonta says he held her hand when she made her choice.

“I had to weigh all of the decisions that came with that reality. And I chose to get an abortion. I chose to own my body,” Bonta said.

She added that her decision allowed her to break what she called “the cycle of poverty in my family.”

If the Roe ruling falls “those choices and those decisions will not be available for women in places like Mississippi or Georgia or 20 other states,” she added, calling the prospect “unfathomable.”

Bonta, a Black Latina, called the potential court ruling “an attack on women of color.”

She serves in the San Francisco Bay Area’s 18th Assembly District, a seat her husband held before being appointed attorney general. The couple has three children.

The court’s draft ruling could change, and a decision is not expected until the end of the court’s term in June. California is seeking to expand abortion rights. Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to be a “refuge” for those seeking an abortion. One proposal in Legislature would cover costs for pregnant women to come from out of state.