California Briefs: State Expands Access, Protections for Reproductive Health Care and Bans Book Bans

California Expands Access and Protections for Reproductive Health Care

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Newsom Sept. 27 signed nine bills – providing stronger protections for providers delivering abortion care, expanding the health care workforce and protecting patient reproductive health care information.

This action builds on California’s efforts to safeguard access to reproductive health care and remain a safe haven state – including protecting patients, providers and supporters; expanding access to care and services; and sharing California’s efforts and actions with other states through the Reproductive Freedom Alliance.

The bill package signed today includes:

Protecting People From Other States’  Abortion Bans:

• Senate Bill 345 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D–Berkeley) improves protections for providers against the enforcement of other states’ laws that criminalize or limit reproductive and gender affirming health care services.
• Senate Bill 487 by Senator Toni Atkins (D–San Diego) provides additional safeguards for California abortion providers to participate in the Medi-Cal program, regardless of enforcement activities in another state, if the conduct is legal under California law.
• Assembly Bill 1707 by Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco (D–Downey) protects health care providers and facilities in California from state licensing actions against them based on the enforcement of hostile laws that restrict abortion and gender affirming care in another state.

Protecting Reproductive Health Information:  

• Assembly Bill 254 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D–Orinda) protects reproductive and sexual health digital data included in personal health tracking applications.
• Assembly Bill 352 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D–Orinda) enhances privacy protections for electronic medical records related to abortion, gender affirming care, pregnancy loss, and other sensitive services, closing a major loophole in privacy protections for people traveling to California for abortion and gender affirming care.

Protecting Patients and Providers:

• Assembly Bill 571 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D–Laguna Beach) prohibits an insurer from refusing to provide malpractice insurance to a provider on the basis of them offering abortion, contraception, or gender affirming care that is lawful in California but unlawful in another state.
• Assembly Bill 1720 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D–Orinda) clarifies that ultrasounds and similar medical imaging devices must be offered in licensed facilities or by licensed providers, protecting against unscrupulous uses.

Expanding Reproductive Healthcare Workforce:

• Assembly Bill 1646 by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D–Elk Grove) facilitates guest rotations in medical residency programs in California for residents who can no longer receive the proper training due to their program being in a state with restrictions or bans.
• Signed earlier this month, Senate Bill 385 (Atkins, D – San Diego) allows physician assistants to provide abortion care, after receiving training and in compliance with protocols.

People in need of abortion care or support accessing abortion care, regardless of what state they call home, can utilize California’s nation-leading website: Abortion.CA.Gov.

California Bans Book Bans and Textbook Censorship in Schools

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom Sep. 25 signed AB 1078 by Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), which bans “book bans” in schools, prohibits censorship of instructional materials, and strengthens California law requiring schools to provide all students access to textbooks that teach about California’s diverse communities.

AB 1078 provides the superintendent of public instruction the authority to buy textbooks for students in a school district, recoup costs, and assess a financial penalty if a school board willfully chooses to not provide sufficient standards-aligned instructional materials for students. The law also prohibits school boards from banning instructional materials or library books on the basis that they provide inclusive and diverse perspectives in compliance with state law.