California has long been a more liberal-minded state in the USA. So, despite the sometimes angry debates around the country over the rights and wrongs of abortion, it comes as no surprise Californians take a more positive view.

The State legislature took a step nearer recently to more liberalised abortion, when one politician suggested that access to abortion should be increased. The proposal is to allow nurses, midwives and other appropriately qualified personnel to perform routine cases of abortion during the first trimester.

More complicated cases such as aspiration abortions should only be undertaken by doctors.

Announcing the idea, Californian Assemblywoman Toni Atkins said: “As a former healthcare administrator in women’s clinics, I know from first-hand experience that safe and ready access to abortion procedures makes all the difference in the world in women’s lives.”

She added: “Long wait times or having to travel long distances put basic services out of reach for many women.”

As would be expected, the various pro life groups in California have condemned the proposal.

However, pro-life groups in the USA now appear to be at odds with the general population in California specifically and the USA as a whole. A recent poll of Americans found that only 20% think abortion is a major issue and should be made illegal.

The poll was carried out by USA Today which also found that even those individuals who feel abortion to be morally wrong they nevertheless believe it is permissible under certain circumstances.

The debate is unlikely to go away in the USA as it effectively has done in Britain, but despite moves by prominent anti-abortionists, the tide now seems to turning towards the pro-abortion movement.