Some days, it feels like California legislators wake up and say to themselves, “How can I punish my constituents today?” Or, “How can I make California even worse?” “Is there a way to get more people to leave?”

Since California often leads the nation, it’s important to pay attention. What starts here may one day end up in your town.

An example of the lunacy: President Biden’s economy already featured rising fuel prices, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, the pain at the pump skyrocketed even more. What would a sane California legislator do? Lower the gas tax or at least suspend it, of course (California has the highest gas tax in the nation, so this would make a huge difference). But nooooooo.  As RedState’s Kira Davis points out, they did the exact opposite–they’re actually raising gas taxes!  Because, well, they can.

Democrats ambushed the Republican minority and replaced a tax relief bill with a tax hike bill that will use the new, higher taxes to send rebates to Californians paying higher taxes on their energy than ever before. And they didn’t just amend the tax holiday into a tax hike…they passed it out of committee, with Kiley’s name still on it.

California also has a vibrant gig economy, with musicians, Uber drivers, contract workers of every sort. What do you do if you’re a California legislator? You make life harder for those people by passing AB5, which forced employers to classify many of these gig workers as employees, with all the attendant costs for those companies.Many of these independent contractors lost their jobs as a result.

It’s no surprise then that the California legislature has come out with a loony new bill, AB2223, which among other things, states: “People also need to end pregnancies by abortion, including self-managed abortion, which means ending one’s own pregnancy outside of the medical system.”  (Which raises so many questions!)

But the language that has stirred the most controversy reads:

Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty, or otherwise deprived of their rights, rights under this article, based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death. death due to a pregnancy-related cause.

The stricken text has been replaced with the italicized text by amendments made April 7, 2022, after outcry that the last sentence seemed to imply that you can terminate your baby after it has been delivered. Many expressed their outrage:

California Assembly Committee Passes Bill That Would Legalize Infanticide Up to 28 Dayshttps://t.co/PEVj6xZghq

— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) April 6, 2022

It seems that some of the backlash has caused lawmakers to slightly change their wording. The new language however isn’t much better–how can a post-pregnancy (perinatal) death occur due to a pregnancy-related cause?  The pregnancy ends once the baby arrives.

The author of the bill is defending its contents:

No one should have to face investigation, prosecution, or incarceration for the outcome of their pregnancy—but it still happens, even in CA. That’s why I’m proud to author #AB2223, to end such persecution.

I want to debunk some disinformation being spread about AB 2223. Thread— pic.twitter.com/Ua528J5zGI

— Buffy Wicks (@BuffyWicks) April 5, 2022

I guess she’s never heard of Kermit Gosnell.

The bill has now been re-referred to the Committee on Health. Since this is California, it will probably eventually pass. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, Texas, and others have been busy strengthening their abortion laws, so it’s likely this national fight is only going to get worse.

Supreme Court, get ready for some fireworks.