New California Abortion Laws
The bills listed below were signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 27, 2022:
AB 1375: Reduces doctor oversight and standardized procedures for abortions.
AB 657: Fast-tracks abortion licenses for health care officials coming to California to provide abortions.
SB 1245: Funds abortion access in Los Angeles County.
AB 2626: Prohibits specified medical licensing boards from suspending or revoking a license from a provider for performing an abortion if the abortion was in accordance with the Medical Practice Act and the Reproductive Privacy Act.
AB 1918: Establishes the California Reproductive Health Service Corps, which will provide education and training to newly recruited abortion and reproductive health care workers in exchange for a three-year commitment by the trainees to work for the state to provide abortions and other reproductive services in “underserved areas.”
AB 2586: Awards funding grants to community organizations for comprehensive reproductive and sexual education, including information about abortion access.
AB 2091: Prohibits health care providers from sharing medical information regarding an out-of-state individual, even minors without the knowledge or consent of their parents, seeking an abortion in California.
AB 2134: Establishes the California Reproductive Health Equity Program, which provides grants to providers to cover the cost of abortion procedures and contraception for low-income clients.
SB 523: Expands birth control access regardless of insurance status by requiring health plans to cover certain over-the-counter birth control without cost sharing. It also prohibits employment discrimination based on reproductive health decisions by making “reproductive health decision making” a new civil rights category.
AB 2223: Blocks investigation of fetal death and shields anyone who aids in the death of a baby.
AB 1242: Prohibits California law enforcement and corporations from “cooperating with out-of-state entities regarding a lawful abortion in California” and prohibits law enforcement from arresting anyone having a lawful abortion in California.
SB 1142: Requires the establishment of an abortion care services website and an evaluation of the Abortion Practical Support Fund, which provides funding for travel, lodging, lost wages, and even child care for anyone who travels to California for an abortion.
Legislation Signed Into Law by Newsom:
AB 1666 and AB 1242: Forbid California from complying with other states’ valid court decisions, subpoenas, and orders that concern abortion.
Legislation Awaiting Newsom’s Signature:
AB 2091: Prohibits a person from being compelled to provide testimony about another person who sought or obtained an abortion.
AB 2320: Subsidizes a pilot program to increase abortion access in rural counties.
AB 1940: Enables school-based health centers to provide “reproductive health services” to students.
SB 1131: Provides legal confidentiality protection to workers involved in abortion and other reproductive services.
SB 1400: Increases the minimum damages reward to $25,000 in civil suits brought by abortion workers whose names, addresses, or other personal information are posted online for the purpose of inciting harassment.
Then there’s Proposition 1, which would define “reproductive freedom” as a constitutional right. Because it would require an amendment to the state’s constitution, California’s voters, not the Legislature, will decide the fate of this measure on Nov. 8, 2022….
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