What California is doing to protect abortion rights after Roe vs. Wade reversal

With Roe vs. Wade now dead, liberal California finds itself more than ever as the vanguard for abortion rights.

Red states are now pushing to end abortions immediately, while California is encouraging women to come here to have the procedures.

California's leadership on abortion rights dates back to the 1970s, when then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, a conservative Republican, signed the nation’s most liberal abortion law.

The state legalized abortion in 1967, years before the Roe vs. Wade decision, and those protections have since been expanded by the Legislature and governor, the California Supreme Court and a 1972 voter-approved state constitutional amendment protecting privacy rights. Those protections include funding for abortions provided to low-income women covered by the Medi-Cal program and the right for minors to obtain an abortion without parental consent.

The state has become more liberal and Democratic since. And over the last few years, California has moved to be a leader in providing access for abortions.

Hours after the Supreme Court ruled, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday that immediately protects abortion providers in California from liability when caring for patients traveling from areas where the procedure is now banned or access is narrowed. Assembly Bill 1666 will protect providers and patients in California from civil liability judgments based on claims made in antiabortion states.

California has been preparing for months for the likelihood that thousands of people would travel to the state from areas of the country where bans are resurrected. UCLA’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy released a report this month estimating that 8,000 to 16,000 more people will travel to California each year for abortion care. That includes up to 9,400 more people from antiabortion states seeking care in Los Angeles County alone, according to the report.

Newsom on Friday joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in announcing the creation of a “West Coast offensive” to protect access to reproductive care. The plan includes continued safeguards for out-of-state patients, defense of medical professionals who provide abortion services and efforts to prevent misinformation and expand access to care, the governors said.

“The West Coast of the United States is going to stand strong,” they said. “We will fight like hell to protect your rights and your safety.”

Newsom added: “I want folks to know around the rest of the country, many parts of the globe, that I hope we’re your antidote to your fear, or anxiety, perhaps to the cynicism that many of you are feeling about the fate and future."

Here is a breakdown of what California is doing:

Enshrining abortion, contraceptive rights in state Constitution

The proposal would not expand California’s already progressive reproductive healthcare laws that ensure a woman’s right to abortion and birth control, including the rights of minors to access services without parental notification or consent. The Senate and Assembly are expected to take it up this week.

The nation’s abortion provider in a post-Roe world

The state has been preparing for an influx from areas of the country where bans will be resurrected for the first time since 1973, with various bills and budget proposals calling for millions of dollars to be set aside for abortion services for the uninsured, workforce programs to increase providers and to assist patients traveling from other states.

Center of a new political movement

There are clear political dynamics to California officials' decision to embrace abortion rights. Here is how that is playing out.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.