In a letter to Pelosi released Friday afternoon, the archbishop wrote that he had informed the California Democrat that “should you not publicly repudiate your advocacy for abortion ‘rights’ or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion, I would have no choice but to make a declaration, in keeping with canon 915, that you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

“As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come,” he continued. “Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be ‘concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care’ (Code of Canon Law, can. 383, §1), by means of this communication I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.”

CNN has reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment.

Last year, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops voted overwhelmingly to approve a document that fell far short of refusing Holy Communion to President Joe Biden or others who support abortion rights, something conservatives in the Church have pushed for in spite of guidance from Pope Francis. Biden, while visiting Italy last year, said Pope Francis told him he was happy he was a “good Catholic” and said he should continue receiving Communion.

Biden, who is a lifelong devout Catholic, was denied Communion in 2019 at a Catholic church in South Carolina over his support for abortion rights.

Pope Francis has spoken out against the moves by some American bishops to permit individual bishops to deny communion to politicians who support abortion rights. The Communion refusal movement is driven by a more conservative wing of the Catholic Church.

CNN’s Tom Foreman contributed to this report.

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After a Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked last month, many companies jumped into action, adding or calling out abortion benefits to their health care plans for employees. Now, as the ruling became official Friday and activists have taken to the streets, even more companies have joined in, both offering travel assistance to employees seeking abortion and using their platforms to decry the decision.

From tech giants to legacy apparel brands, here are the San Francisco Bay Area companies offering some type of abortion benefit to employees. This list may be updated.

Patagonia

The apparel company, which has offices in Sausalito, penned a LinkedIn post on Friday revealing the reproductive assistance included in its health care benefits, including abortion care. Where restrictions are in place, the company pays for travel, lodging and food. It also included other benefits it offers related to abortion rights, including “training and bail for those who peacefully protest for reproductive justice.”

Airbnb

After the Texas Legislature passed a law prohibiting abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy in September 2021, Airbnb published a blog post that same month declaring its support of the reproductive rights of women, including a contribution to health organizations including Planned Parenthood. The travel company pledged to offer financial support to “​​any Airbnb Host who is implicated under Texas Senate Bill 8 and faces legal action and expenses as a result” and “these commitments will extend to other US jurisdictions if similar laws such are enacted. ” Since Airbnb hosts could be sued under the Texas law for facilitating an abortion, this protection could be crucial for hosts tempted to pull their listings down out of fear of liability. The company would also cover travel expenses for employees seeking abortions out of state.

Salesforce

San Francisco’s largest private employer told its workers in a Slack post in May reviewed by CNBC that the company will assist them in relocating if they’re concerned about abortion access. “If you have concerns about access to critical health care in your state, Salesforce will provide financial support for travel, available through our health care providers, and/or help relocate you and members of your immediate family,” the post from Brent Hyder, president and chief people officer, read.

lyft

In a blog post Friday, Lyft President of Business Affairs Kristin Sverchek stated that the company’s medical benefits include coverage for abortions and reimbursement for travel costs. She also reiterated that protections are in place to protect drivers from fear of being south under new laws enacted in states like Texas and Oklahoma. “This decision will hurt millions of women by taking away access to safe, and private reproductive healthcare services,” the post read. The company donated $1 million to Planned Parenthood in September 2021.

Above

The ride-hailing giant confirmed it would cover travel expenses for employees seeking an abortion. As with Lyft, Uber has put in place legal protections and reimbursement plans for its drivers should they be implicated in cases of facilitating an abortion. “After this morning’s Supreme Court ruling, we reiterated to employees that Uber’s insurance plans in the US already cover a range of reproductive health benefits, including pregnancy termination and travel expenses to access healthcare. We will also continue to stand behind drivers, reimbursing legal expenses if any driver is south under state law for providing transportation on our platform to a clinic,” a spokesperson told SFGATE.

Reddit

Reddit said it will issue a grant for employees who need to travel to seek an abortion. “At Reddit, our benefits programs are designed to support the health and safety of our employees, and we have had robust policies in place to support women in the workplace. Reproductive health services are already covered by several of our health plans, and our benefits cover all employees, regardless of their location. If employees need to travel in order to access medical care, they can utilize an annual stipend benefit to cover travel costs and our unlimited paid time off policy,” a spokesperson said.

Meta

A Meta spokesperson told the New York Times, “We intend to offer travel expense reimbursements, to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services. We are in the process of assessing how best to do so given the legal complexities involved.”

Tesla

After moving its headquarters to Texas from the Bay Area, the electric car company said in a May report it would cover employee travel and lodging expenses for those seeking an abortion that is unavailable in their state.

yelp

The reviews site pledged its support for abortion rights in April, with co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman speaking out on the topic. “This ruling puts women’s health in jeopardy, denies them their human rights, and threatens to dismantle the progress we’ve made toward gender equality in the workplaces since Roe,” he said in a statement. “Business leaders must step up to support the health and safety of their employees by speaking out against the wave of abortion bans that will be triggered as a result of this decision, and call on Congress to codify Roe into law.” The company will cover travel expenses related to seeking an abortion.

box

The Bay Area-based cloud management company said in May it would cover travel expenses for abortions for employees. It also said in a tweet that it was “disappointed” in the decision to overturn Roe v. Calf.

?’? https://t.co/pB6kFGpUGt

— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 24, 2022

DoorDash

The food delivery platform said in May it will cover travel expenses for both its employees and their dependents for those who must travel out of state to get an abortion. “It’s paramount that all DoorDash employees and their dependents covered on our health plans have equitable, timely access to safe healthcare. This is one of our guiding principles as an employer. Because safe abortion procedures are likely to become severely limited in more states, DoorDash will cover certain travel-related expenses for employees who face new barriers to access and need to travel out of state for abortion-related care,” a spokesperson told SFGATE.

Levi Strauss & Co.

The apparel company headquartered in San Francisco wrote in May that employees are “eligible for reimbursement for healthcare-related travel expenses for services not available in their home state, including those related to reproductive health care and abortion.” The post went on to urge business leaders to take a stand, “Given what is at stake, business leaders need to make their voices heard and act to protect the health and well-being of our employees. That means protecting reproductive rights,” the post read

Disney

CNBC obtained an internal memo Disney issued Friday that assured employees it would cover expenses related to seeking an out-of-state abortion. “Our company remains committed to removing barriers and providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, no matter where they live,” Paul Richardson, chief human resources officer , and Pascale Thomas, vice president of enterprise benefits and well-being, said in the memo.

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The archbishop of San Francisco said Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is Catholic, can no longer receive the sacrament of communion because she has declined to back down from her push for abortion access.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone wrote in a public post Friday that his “many requests” have not been accepted to speak with Pelosi, who is from San Francisco, since she vowed to keep Roe v. calf. The archbishop said he communicated to Pelosi on April 7 that, she should not publicly repudiate her “advocacy for abortion ‘rights” or refrain from referring to her faith in public, he would have no choice but to deny her communion. The archbishop’s reprimand is the latest development in political and religious debate as some leaders in the Catholic Church speak out against Catholic politicians who support abortion.

The archbishop referred to the Catholic Church’s Cannon 915, which says that, “Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.” The Chatecism of the Catholic Church is against abortion.

“As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come,” the archbishop wrote. “Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be ‘concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care’ … by means of this communication I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.”

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks in front of the steps to the House of Representatives with congressional members to speak on the Roe v. Wade issue May 13, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

The archbishop simplified his position in a follow-up tweet: “After numerous attempts to speak with Speaker Pelosi to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, an the danger to her own soul she is risking, I have determined that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion,” he wrote.

The archbishop’s public post comes as the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade sparked renewed attention over the abortion debate, and a flurry of proposed laws both from those who support and oppose abortion.

But Pelosi isn’t the first politician to be reprimanded by those in the Catholic Church over abortion — bishops have debated whether President Biden, who is also Catholic, should receive communion as well. Pope Francis last year said he has never denied anyone communion, and encouraged Catholic leaders to avoid aligning themselves with politics.

Ultimately, in November 2021, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to approve a document that fell short of refusing communion to Mr. Biden or others who advocate for widespread abortion access.

Rebecca Kaplan contributed to this report

The Battle Over Abortion

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Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, DC

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An abortion opponent was arranged Thursday on charges of felony stalking and other misdemeanors after he targeted a physician at home and barged into the San Francisco health clinic where the physician works, frightening the doctor, patients and staff, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said.

Aaron Jonathan Hurley, 37, pleaded not guilty to charges that also included misdemeanor obstructing freedom of access to a clinic and vandalism. The Los Angeles resident is affiliated with the group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, Boudin said in a press release.

“Reproductive rights are under attack across the country — and here in San Francisco,” Boudin said. “Make no mistake: anyone who harasses, threatens, or interferes in any way with the constitutionally protected work of doctors and staff — who heroically provide care — will be held accountable.”

Allison Aranda, senior staff counsel with Life Legal Defense Foundation in Napa and Hurley’s attorney, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Boudin’s office said that Hurley and three others on March 14 used a decoy to get into the Women’s Options Center at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. When the nurse went to speak to a woman pretending to need counseling, the group barged into the clinic, began filming and chanting the doctor’s name along with: “We know who you are, we know what you do,” according to the press release .

That night, according to the press release, Hurley and the others went to the doctor’s home, placed stickers that said “a killer lives in your neighborhood” at neighbors’ houses and on the doctor’s front door. They also placed flyers with a QR code that led to a website naming the doctor, forcing the doctor to fear for their safety, the statement said.

The group also allegedly defaced a bronze statue of the Madonna and Child at the hospital the previous night, covering it with what looked like fake blood and stickers with the doctor’s name on it, said the DA’s office.

Two people both featured in the about section of the anti-abortion group’s website were cited and released after the hospital incident. The DA’s office has issued an arrest warrant for another member of the group. The investigation is ongoing.

The judge denied the office’s request for electronic monitoring and released Hurley with orders to stay away from the doctor, said Rachel Marshall, spokeswoman for Boudin’s office. The next court date is June 13.

A leaked copy of a draft opinion made public earlier this month indicates that the US Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 ruling that guarantees people the right to terminate their pregnancy.

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Archbishop Cordileone Orders No Communion For Speaker Pelosi

The Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, Salvator Cordileone, directed priests under his jurisdiction not to give House Speaker Nancy Pelosi communion. Cordileone says it’s because of Pelosi’s support for abortion rights.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF / AP) – Foiled by a federal court backlash, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered staff to use Texas’s successful legal arguments in the Supreme Court to defend its ban on abortion to draft law that it would prohibit possession of assault weapons in California.

In a statement released Saturday night, Newsom expressed outrage over the Supreme Court’s decision on the Texas case.

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“I am outraged by yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling allowing the ban on most abortion services in Texas to be upheld, and I broadly support Texas’s plan to amend its Roe v. Basic Protection Act. Isolate Wade, ”he said. “But if states can now protect their laws from scrutiny by federal courts that liken assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives while Texas has used them to put women at risk. “

“I have directed my associates to work with the Legislature and Attorney General on a bill that will create a right of action that allows individuals to seek injunctive relief and legal damages of at least $ 10,000 per violation, plus costs and attorney’s fees assert anyone. ”Who manufactures, distributes or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts thereof in the US state of California. If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, that’s exactly what we should be doing. “

California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault weapons for decades. A federal judge lifted the ban in June, ruling it unconstitutional and drew the wrath of the state’s democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as “good for home and combat”.

The state ban remained in place while the verdict is being appealed.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas passed law earlier this year banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs about six weeks after pregnancy. Texas law allows private individuals to enforce the ban and gives them the power to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who “helps and assists” with the process.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court allowed Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics block it.

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The Texas Abortion Act litigation has centered on its unusual structure and whether it inappropriately limits the ability to challenge the law in court. Texan lawmakers left responsibility for enforcing the law to private individuals, not state officials.

The case raised a complex set of questions about who, if any, can sue in federal court, the typical avenue for contesting abortion restrictions.

Newsom’s gun proposal would have to pass California lawmakers before it could become law. The legislature is currently not in session and is due to meet again in January. It usually takes around eight months for new bills to pass through lawmakers, unless there are special circumstances.

Senator Brian Dahle, a Republican from Bieber, would oppose the plan but predicted it could likely pass California’s Democrat-dominated legislature. He said the proposal was most likely a stunt for Newsom to attract its progressive electorate ahead of a possible future presidential run.

“The right to bear arms is different from the right to have an abortion. The right to abortion is not a constitutional change. So I think he’s far from the base, ”said Dahle. “I think he’s just using it as an opportunity to be in the stands.”

But Newsom’s Saturday night statement is a fulfilled prophecy for some gun rights groups who had predicted that progressive states would try to use Texas’ abortion law to restrict access to guns. Because of this, the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit group that campaigns for gun rights, has filed a lawsuit against Texas law in the US Supreme Court.

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“If Texas is successful in its move here, New York, California, New Jersey and others will not be far behind making equally aggressive moves to not only deter but to freeze the right to keep and carry weapons,” Lawyer Erik Jaffe wrote on behalf of the Arms Policy Coalition.

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Issued on: 09.12.2021 – 02:12Changed: 12/09/2021 – 02:10

San Francisco (AFP)

IT giant Salesforce has offered to relocate its Texas employees after the conservative state passed a restrictive abortion law.

“If you want to move, we’ll help you get out of TX,” said Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, in a tweet Friday, adding a link to a CBNC article that first covered the move.

The law banning abortions after six weeks has sparked outrage among suffragettes, and the Biden government is looking for legal ways to prevent it.

Salesforce, a San Francisco-based software company, told its employees that it respects “that we are all ingrained and have different perspectives,” said an internal statement quoted by CNBC.

“If you have concerns about access to reproductive health care in your state, Salesforce will help you relocate you and your immediate family,” the memo said.

Texas law, passed this month, prohibits abortions once a heartbeat can be detected before many women even know they are pregnant – except in the event of a medical emergency.

Other tech companies have also taken action in response to the law. Texas-based online dating giants Bumble and Match Group have announced plans to create funds to support women.

The new law encourages Texans to report anyone involved in illegal abortion, including anyone who takes a woman to a clinic to have the procedure done. In response, car sharing companies Uber and Lyft have announced that they will pay drivers legal fees if exposed.

Web hosting company GoDaddy refused to host a website that was set up by a Texas anti-abortion group to gather guidance on how to enforce the new law.

© 2021 AFP

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