In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, I wanted to shine light on the reproductive rights at stake in California under our current federal administration.
On the first of this month, I had the privilege of traveling to the California State Capitol with Planned Parenthood Los Angeles to lobby for assembly bills protecting reproductive health access for individuals across the golden state.
Today, I’m here to tell you everything you need to know about abortion access in CA, and how to protect reproductive freedoms permanently in our state’s constitution.
Assembly Bills
AB 54 (Krell) Access to Safe Abortion Care Act
Assembly Bill 54, introduced by Assemblywoman Krell of California’s sixth district, strives to ensure medication abortion remains accessible and decriminalized under state law. Mifepristone, the drug typically prescribed to perform medication abortions, has been FDA approved and safely administered since 2000.
Trump’s outward opposition towards abortion puts the access to this safe and efficient form of pregnancy termination at stake not only for patients, but also for doctors, facilities and manufacturers providing said drug.
This law would ensure the protection of administrators from both criminal and civil prosecution under the law in the event that the medication itself becomes criminalized. In other words, this law would protect the use of mifepristone under state law, in turn safeguarding California residents from punishment regardless of what federal laws begin to surface.
AB 260 (Aguiar-Curry) Protect Medication Abortion
Assemblywoman Aguilar-Curry of California’s fourth district introduced the Protect Medication Abortion bill to the Assembly through AB 260. This bill strives to further protect medication abortion, while also expanding accessibility to residents in rural, more scrutinized communities.
This law would allow providers to further protect themselves from liabilities accompanied with prescribing mifepristone and other medication abortion drugs.
By allowing doctors to remove their titles from prescription bottles, this law allows greater anonymity for providers offering care to residents who may be at higher risk of persecution for seeking out these healthcare services.
This law also encourages the increase in accessibility for telehealth in California. Allowing residents in areas without secure access to abortion services to reach providers across the state.
Also on the agenda are a combination of Senate bills that would further instill health service protections into California’s state Constitution. While I did not have the opportunity to meet with any Senators to discuss this legislation, these Planned Parenthood sponsored bills targeted towards protecting those under Medi-Cal ensure the continued accessibility of reproductive and sexual health care services at an affordable rate.
Senate Bills
SB 339 (Cabaldon) Ensure Access to STI Testing
Senator Christopher Cabaldon introduced SB 339, a bill that stabilizes STI reimbursement rates within the Medi-Cal system. This fixed deductible would ensure that patients continue to receive coverage for all necessary services, including STI testing, even in the event that insurance prices, such as Medicaid, fluctuate.
When lobbying earlier this month, I worked directly with Planned Parenthood clinicians who specified the need for this insurance rate stabilization. Whether patients are coming in for gynecological care, abortion services, or anything else PP provides, almost all of them are receiving an STI test during their visit. The majority of these patients in California, rely on Medi-Cal to supplement their healthcare needs.
SB 528 (Weber-Pierson) Safeguard Against Threats to Medicaid
In addition to the protective bills proposed in the Assembly, Senator Weber-Pierson introduced SB 528 to protect health care services offerings despite what threats may be made to reproductive care currently covered under Medicaid.
This bill would give California the authority to use state dollars to supplement services such as family planning, abortion services and any other resources that become excluded or restricted from federal Medicaid.
So, next time you think this historically blue state is safe from any federal impositions on reproductive health policy, think again. Thankfully, California legislators are hard at work protecting access to this care for individuals of all regions and backgrounds.
It may not seem like any monumental change, but I am proud to have even a small role in this push towards securing reproductive freedom for all people, everywhere.