KTLA News: "Protesters picket budget cuts eliminating Medi-Cal funds for abortions" (1978)

the decision to cut medical funding of abortions out of the new budget brought a sharp response from the members of the Los Angeles feminist Women's Health Center the demonstrators paraded in front of the State Office Building chanting their slogans claiming that California has taken a giant step backwards in efforts to provide equal access to healthc care services today's protest is one of several plan to draw attention to the situation and offer alternative means to allow women the abortions they want I do think there are probably ways that the state could deal with this problem of the fact that there are going to be many women who are not going to be able to get abortions are going to find it very difficult obviously at this point uh mostly what we can do is try to influence their future decisions you know on other matters that concern abortion uh this is just one of the many threats that is made you know every week in the legislator against women's right to have abortion the feminist demonstrators say the medical cutbacks affect the women who need those Services the most the poor and disadvantaged one purpose of this demonstration is to inform women that medical funded abortions will be available for at least another month now the effort is to find new funding sources for abortions Mike boua Channel 5 news watch downtown Los Angeles what do we want right do we want now [Music] not the church not the control our chur control their two show off our B keep your off our B not women must control our f [Music] f if all the gloom and doom predictions had come true then this unemployment office would be swarming with firemen policemen and teachers who were supposed to get fired when Proposition 13 took effect but so far there is no mob scene and it appears that Howard Jarvis was right today only about 3,600 people out of 800,000 government employees in California have actually gotten their pink slips that's less than half the 8,400 fired when President Carter pulled a plug on the B1 bomber program thanks largely to the release of a big State Surplus most government employees are still working in the three biggest California cities Los Angeles San Diego and San Francisco not a single regular fireman or policeman has lost his job but Proposition 13 is being keenly felt in other areas the most dramatic effect the cancellation of summer school programs in many communities there is something else that hasn't happened rent rollbacks rents are either staying where they are or continuing to go up some of them as much as $100 a month that's sparking talk of rent control in the LA City Council now we're hearing about a new Proposition 13 doomsday July of next year that's when we're told the state budget surplus will be expended and the massive layoffs we were supposed to have this July 1st will finally take place this is Mike boua reporting from Los [Music] [Music] Angeles the UN tax thank you on the matter and refer to [Music] [Music] and finance Rue we do impos the tax but when we start imposing taxes then we've got to find some more Progressive matter to anybody I can care L weren't you complaining yesterday because [Music] [Music] something ways of imposing the tax and strangely enough seems like the strong arguments come coming for [Music] this [Music] that not the [Music] St contr our F not the church not the state women must control our keep your off our body keep your log off our B keep your L off our B keep your L off what is the purpose of today's demonstration well this is a group of people who are really angry about the cutbacks and medical funding for abortion most of us have been fighting to try to prevent those cutbacks and very angry that the legislator has gone ahead and cut back uh saying that women who have medical by and large will not be able to get abortions uh on medical we feel that um this is very discriminatory against poor women that all women have a right to abortion not just if we're rich and we feel that uh it's very important for the legislator legislators and the governor to hear from us and there will be more demonstrations and more meetings to try to change the situation do you see any way that the situation can be changed that uh you would uh you would be able to get some of those funds restored I'm not sure if that's possible are here to let women know that abortions are still funded by medical through August the 15th we feel it's very important for every woman to realize she can still get an abortion on medical through August the 15th and that after that there are many Community organizations Hospitals and Clinics that will be working together to make sure that abortions are still available to women who have medic account thank you thank you just wants to get [Music] a [Music] ready [Music] for