SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued the following statement after a U.S. District Court deemed the fee-shifting provisions of California’s SB 1327 unconstitutional:
“I want to thank Judge Benitez. We have been saying all along that Texas’ anti-abortion law is outrageous. Judge Benitez just confirmed it is also unconstitutional. The provision in California’s law that he struck down is a replica of what Texas did, and his explanation of why this part of SB 1327 unfairly blocks access to the courts applies equally to Texas’ SB 8. There is no longer any doubt that Texas’ cruel anti-abortion law should also be struck down,” said Governor Newsom.
SB 1327 was enacted after the Supreme Court allowed Texas’ SB 8 to go into effect to ensure that if courts will allow Texans to sue to stop abortions, then California could use that same legal mechanism to protect Californians from gun violence on our streets. Governor Newsom has always spoken out against SB 8, calling it abhorrent.
With today’s ruling, it is hypocritical to let Texas use procedural rules to shield its laws from review and then say that California cannot enact the very same rules in its laws. As the Supreme Court has recognized, ‘in the law, what is sauce for the goose is normally sauce for the gander.’