California bill would allow Arizona doctors to perform abortions in Golden State

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Arizona doctors will have the ability to travel to California and perform abortions for their patients under a new bill announced Wednesday.

The bill, not yet finalized, is in response to an Arizona Supreme Court ruling this month that upheld an almost complete abortion ban from 1864. Under that law, someone who performs or helps someone get an abortion could face a felony charge and two to five years in prison if convicted.

“It’s obvious that the real objective is to return women to second-class citizens,” said state Senator Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat and author of the new bill. “We will not abandon our sisters or their health care providers in Arizona or any other state.”

Skinner was flanked by members of the state’s Legislative Women’s Caucus, of which she is chair, as she announced the urgency measure. One of her existing bills — Senate Bill 233, which is about electric vehicle batteries — will be amended and become the new legislation.

It’s expected to move quickly, as the Arizona law will become effective June 8. It requires a two-thirds’ passage in both the California Senate and Assembly to be enacted immediately after it’s signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Democrats have a supermajority in both chambers and Newsom is a Democrat.

“In California, we value women,” said first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “In California, we value women’s health. In California, we support every woman’s right to bodily autonomy.”

The new bill, not available Wednesday, will be amended Thursday, Skinner said. In addition to granting Arizona doctors in good standing the ability to perform abortions in California, it also will prohibit cell phone and social media companies from handing over information that could lead another state to prosecute.

State Senator Caroline Menjivar, a San Fernando Valley Democrat, said she would be considered a third-class citizen in Arizona, as she’s a woman and a lesbian. She said women and people of color have the most barriers to seeking reproductive care, adding that California should be a safe haven for such rights.

Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and chair of the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, said access to abortion affects someone’s health and financial health.

“This is not a decision the state should be making for you,” Wilson said. “California will protect your right to choose.”

Dr. Tanya Spirtos, president of the California Medical Association, said the Arizona ruling clears the way for a near-ban, infringes women’s rights and endangers their health and well-being. Patients must have access to vital health care, and Arizona’s law puts doctors in harm’s way.

That message was echoed by Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. Hicks said that since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned a constitutional right to an abortion, state-by-state bans are causing chaos.

“The cruelty of what is happening is the point of it all,” Hicks said.

The governor said that in 2023 some 160,000 people left their states to seek an abortion. States that border jurisdictions with abortion bans saw a 37% increase in out-of-state patients between 2020 and 2023.

“This is not an academic exercise,” Newsom said. “This is happening in real time.

“This would never happen if it were men,” he added moments later. “We know that.”

There’s been pushback on the Arizona high court ruling from top Democrats in that state.

Governor Katie Hobbs pointed to an executive order issued last year that takes prosecutorial power over abortions away from county attorneys, giving it to the state attorney general. State Attorney General Kris Mayes has said she won’t prosecute a woman or doctor over an abortion.

Additionally, Democrats in the Arizona Legislature have tried over the weeks to repeal the 1864 near-total abortion ban. Its House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would repeal it. The state Senate could take up the bill next week.

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