SACRAMENTO — With the Arizona Supreme Court allowing an 1864 near-total abortion ban to take effect, women in Arizona will soon be left without access to abortion care across the state. Arizona abortion providers will be unable to provide care without fear of extreme repercussions and unless the life of their patients are already at risk. Gov. Newsom and the California Women’s Caucus are announcing new legislation to allow Arizona abortion care providers to temporarily provide abortion care in California to patients from Arizona who have traveled to California for abortion care.
Watch the press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2mk49KoT-w
Before this pre-statehood law goes back into effect, Gov. Newsom is announcing urgency legislation, in partnership with the California Women’s Caucus, to temporarily allow currently licensed Arizona abortion care providers to provide care to Arizonans here in California — meaning they could cross the border and continue to provide care legally to their Arizona patients. California shares a roughly 200-mile-long border with Arizona.
This legislation is a valuable stopgap even if the Arizona Republican-led legislature passes a law to repeal the extreme 1864 ban. With its urgency clause, SB 233 would fill a critical gap for care during a meaningful period of time before an Arizona repeal could be implemented. Swift action helps combat the confusion and chilling effect this back-and-forth creates.
“If California has to lead, we will, especially when it comes to protecting women’s health and bodily autonomy against archaic, conservative, anti-woman attacks. California will provide a safe harbor for those in Arizona providing and seeking abortion care, ” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
ABOUT THE PROPOSAL: Senate Bill 233 (Skinner and Aguiar-Curry) would temporarily allow licensed Arizona doctors in good standing to provide abortion and abortion-related care to Arizona patients traveling to California through November 30, 2024. The Arizona doctors would be under the oversight of California’s Medical Board and Osteopathic Medical Board and would be required to provide registration information to those boards. The bill contains an urgency clause and would take effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature.
Arizona leaders identified a need to expedite the ability for Arizona abortion providers to continue to provide care to Arizonans as a way to support patients in their state seeking abortion care in California. This bill responds to their call, and coordination between leaders from Arizona and California—including Governors and Attorneys General offices—is already underway to maximize the new legislation’s impact on maintaining access to care for Arizonans.
To support this effort, the organization “Red, Wine, and Blue,” a sisterhood of over a half million suburban women, has generously announced their Arizona Freedom Trust will raise funds to compensate Arizona providers—with $100,000 already committed. The fund will take advantage of existing California structures for similar state funds—expediting the process. This will work in tandem with the abortion practical support fund and the uncompensated care fund to make this care more accessible to Arizonans.
Details: LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS NEW LEGISLATIVE EFFORT