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Ben Johnson supplied additional research for this article.

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 5, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-abortion California politician is serving on the board of advisors for a Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell is on the board of advisors of Verbum Dei High School, which bills itself as “The Jesuit Work Study College Prep in Los Angeles.”

The Democratic legislator, who was elected to office in 2010, is sitting in a position of authority at an educational institution of the Catholic Church despite holding views that won her the endorsement of pro-abortion organizations such as the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project, EMILY’S List, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).

“When contraception and abortion are out of women’s reach, unhealthy outcomes go up,” she said in April 2012. Planned Parenthood included the quotation in a subsequent press release supporting two bills that would concern faithful Catholics.

Senate Bill 1338 died in committee. If passed, it would have authorized nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physicians assistants to perform abortions. It was one of two bills sponsored by Planned Parenthood in the 2012 legislative session.

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Mitchell authored the second, Assembly Bill 2348, a birth control bill, totally contrary to Catholic principles, that later passed and was signed into law. It lowers the standards under which birth control is dispensed, allowing nurses to dispense contraception without the supervision of or examination by a doctor.

“We’re trying to reduce the number of women who delay or forgo reproductive care they and their families need because the cost is too high or professional medical care is too far,” she said of her efforts with Planned Parenthood.

In addition to her pro-abortion voting record, Mitchell voted to ban reparative therapy for individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction. Before the bill's passage its sponsor, State Senator Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, said, “The attack on parental rights is exactly the whole point of the bill.”

Socialist organizations and individuals have also endorsed Mitchell, although political socialism stands in opposition to Church teachings. One such individual, Dolores Huerta, is an honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and serves on the Board of Directors of Equality California, a group advocating the redefinition of marriage.

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Mitchell is also endorsed by the AFL-CIO, SEIU, and the Sierra Club.

LifeSiteNews.com contacted both Verbum Dei High School and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, asking if they had concerns about someone with this record on abortion, contraception, and homosexual advocacy advising young Catholics in the process of formation.

Neither responded with comment by press time.

Contact:

Dan O'Connell, Principal
Verbum Dei High School
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 564-6651, extension 6000
Online contact form.