California Plans To Be Abortion Sanctuary If Roe Is Overturned

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SACRAMENTO (AP) – With much than 2 twelve states poised to prohibition termination if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK adjacent year, California clinics and their allies successful the authorities Legislature connected Wednesday revealed a program to marque the authorities a “sanctuary” for those seeking reproductive care, including perchance paying for travel, lodging and procedures for radical from different states.

The California Future of Abortion Council, made up of much than 40 termination providers and advocacy groups, released a database of 45 recommendations for the authorities to see if the precocious tribunal overturns Roe v. Wade – the 48-year-old determination that forbids states from outlawing abortion.

The recommendations are not conscionable a wide fantasy. Some of the state’s astir important policymakers helped constitute them, including Toni Atkins, the San Diego Democrat who leads the authorities Senate and attended aggregate meetings.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom started the radical himself and successful an interrogation past week with The Associated Press said immoderate of the report’s details volition beryllium included successful his fund connection successful January.

“We’ll beryllium a sanctuary,” Newsom said, adding he’s alert patients volition apt question to California from different states to question abortions. “We are looking astatine ways to enactment that inevitability and looking astatine ways to grow our protections.”

California already pays for abortions for galore low-income residents done the state’s Medicaid program. And California is 1 of six states that necessitate backstage security companies to screen abortions, though galore patients inactive extremity up paying deductibles and co-payments.

But wealth won’t beryllium a occupation for state-funded termination services for patients from different states. California’s coffers person soared passim the pandemic, fueling a grounds fund surplus this year. Next year, the state’s autarkic Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts California volition person a surplus of astir $31 billion.

California’s affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest termination provider, got a sneak preview of however radical mightiness question abortions extracurricular their location states this twelvemonth erstwhile a Texas instrumentality that outlawed termination aft six weeks of gestation was allowed to instrumentality effect. California clinics reported a flimsy summation successful patients from Texas.

Now, California termination providers are asking California to marque it easier for those radical to get to the state.

The study recommends backing – including nationalist spending – to enactment patients seeking termination for question expenses specified arsenic gas, lodging, proscription and kid care. It asks lawmakers to reimburse termination providers for services to those who can’t spend to wage – including those who question to California from different states whose income is debased capable that they would suffice for state-funded abortions nether Medicaid if they lived there.

It’s unclear astir however galore radical would travel to California for abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. But a caller study by the Guttmacher Institute, a probe radical that supports termination rights, estimated astir 1.3 cardinal much women would thrust to California to question abortions. The institute predicts astir of them would travel from Arizona, which has a instrumentality connected the books that would outlaw termination erstwhile it becomes ineligible to bash so.

“That volition decidedly destabilize the termination supplier network,” said Fabiola Carrion, interim manager for reproductive and intersexual wellness astatine the National Health Law Program.

That’s wherefore the study asks lawmakers to springiness scholarships to aesculapian students who pledge to connection termination services successful agrarian areas, assistance them wage disconnected their pupil loans and assistance with their monthly liability security premiums.

“We’re looking astatine however to physique capableness and physique workforce,” said Jodi Hicks, CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “It volition instrumentality a concern and concern with the state.”

Abortion opponents successful California, meanwhile, are besides preparing for a imaginable surge of patients from different states seeking the process – lone they anticipation to person them not to bash it.

Jonathan Keller, president and CEO of the California Family Council, said California has astir 160 gestation assets centers whose purpose is to person women not to get abortions. He said astir fractional of those centers are aesculapian clinics, portion the remainder are faith-based counseling centers.

Many of the centers are located adjacent termination clinics successful an effort to entice radical to question their counseling earlier opting to extremity pregnancies. Keller said galore are already readying connected expanding their staffing if California gets an summation of patients.

“Even if we are not facing immoderate contiguous legislative opportunities oregon legislative victories, it’s a reminder that the enactment of changing hearts and minds and besides providing existent enactment and resources to women facing unplanned pregnancies – that enactment volition ever continue,” Keller said.

He added: “In galore ways, that enactment is going to beryllium adjacent much important, some successful airy of Supreme Court’s determination and successful airy of immoderate Sacramento decides they are going to bash successful response.”

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