Attorney General Bonta Holds Beverly Hills Accountable for Preventing Reproductive Health Clinic from Opening, Failing to Protect California’s Constitutional Right to Abortion | State of California – Department of Justice

Today’s first-of-its-kind stipulated judgment will ensure Beverly Hills comes into full compliance with the law and provides a benchmark for local governments to align with state reproductive healthcare laws

The City to abide by robust injunctive measures including mandated training and reporting

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the filing of a stipulated judgment with the City of Beverly Hills resolving allegations that the City violated the California Constitution, Article I, sections 1 and 1.1, and the Reproductive Privacy Act, Health and Safety Code. In September 2022, DuPont Clinic (Dupont), an abortion provider in Washington, D.C., sought to open a clinic in Beverly Hills, California. However, despite their public position of support for abortion rights, Beverly Hills officials actively implemented barriers, which prohibited Dupont from opening its reproductive health clinic in the City. Today’s stipulated judgment requires Beverly Hills to abide by robust injunctive measures including, among other things, requiring training about the state and federal protections for reproductive healthcare clinics and requiring reporting of compliance with the stipulated judgment to the Attorney General’s office.

“At a time when access to abortion care is under attack across this nation, it is now more critical than ever to double down on our commitment to protect those seeking reproductive healthcare in our state,” said Attorney General Bonta. “It is troubling that, even here in California where access to reproductive healthcare is a constitutional right, Beverly Hills officials have taken actions reminiscent of those in extremist red states by illegally interfering with, and ultimately preventing a new reproductive healthcare clinic from opening. Today’s first-of-its kind agreement will ensure that the City abides by comprehensive training and education of reproductive healthcare laws. The agreement also serves as a benchmark for local governments to evaluate their healthcare policies and services, guaranteeing that they not only comply with the law, but also fulfill California’s broader commitment to reproductive healthcare access. At the California Department of Justice, we believe that reproductive healthcare is a fundamental right and will ensure that this right is upheld, free from political interference, and hold accountable those who break the law.” 

In September 2022, Dupont signed a lease for a medical suite, owned and managed by Douglas Emmett, in Beverly Hills. DuPont spent $2.5 million to renovate the leased medical suite and applied for required City permits in early February 2023. Beginning in late 2022 and continuing into Spring 2023, anti-abortion protestors began to engage in protests outside and around the building and to lobby City officials against the opening of the DuPont clinic through objections at council meetings and private meetings. Through its investigation, DOJ found that the City unlawfully interfered with DuPont’s opening by improperly delaying the issuance of approved building permits and actively engaged in a pressure campaign against the property owner and manager Douglas Emmett, resulting in the termination of DuPont’s lease. For instance, City leadership, including the City Manager, Police Chief, City Attorney and the former Mayor, inaccurately claimed that a new DuPont Clinic would cause security threats against the building’s other tenants, going so far as to say that the building would be subject to violent protests, bomb threats, and “lone-wolf” active shooters. In fact, the City had no evidence or intelligence of any such threats. The City then claimed they would be so overwhelmed by this fictitious threat that they would be unable to provide resources to the landlord and building — threatening to abandon their sworn responsibility to uphold public safety. When these manipulation tactics didn’t work, City leadership threatened to send a letter from the Beverly Hills Police Department to all of Douglas Emmett’s other tenants in the building, warning them about the threats posed by the clinic, continuing to mount pressure until Douglas Emmett decided to end its contract with DuPont Clinic.

The stipulated judgment is the result of the DOJ’s investigation highlighted above, and as part of the stipulated judgment, which is subject to court approval, enjoins the City from violating the California Constitution, Article I, sections 1 and 1.1, and the Reproductive Privacy Act, Health and Safety Code section 123460, and requires the City, among other things:

• To procure or develop training materials that provide information about the California FACE Act, federal FACE Act, and California’s legal protections and access to all forms of reproductive healthcare, within 90 days after the stipulated judgment is entered.
• To conduct comprehensive training for City employees about the state and federal protections for reproductive healthcare clinics within 150 days after the stipulated judgment is entered, and every two years thereafter.
• To publicly post its training resources about state and federal protections for reproductive healthcare clinics.
• To develop a complaint procedure for potential violations of state and federal laws protecting reproductive rights and reporting those complaints to DOJ.
• To appoint a Reproductive Compliance Officer who will be responsible for developing the required training materials and ensuring that the relevant employees and elected officials receive the required training.
• To annually report for the five-year reporting period the City’s compliance with the stipulated judgment.

A copy of the complaint, stipulation for entry of judgment, and the court judgment are available here and here.