California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that will prevent doctors and pharmacists from being prosecuted in other states for mailing abortion pills to patients in areas where the procedure is banned. The law also prohibits the cooperation of state authorities in out-of-state investigations into doctors providing abortion pills. Furthermore, bounty hunters or bail agents will be barred from apprehending healthcare providers and transporting them to other states for trial. Similar laws exist in New York and Massachusetts, but California’s law goes a step further by prohibiting state-based social media companies from complying with out-of-state subpoenas or requests for records to identify patients seeking abortion pills. This law aims to protect doctors in California who offer abortions to patients in states where access to the procedure has been limited or banned.
The law only provides protection for doctors and pharmacists residing in California. If healthcare providers leave the state to provide care in other states, they will not be protected under this law. Governor Newsom emphasized the importance of protecting women and healthcare workers, stating that they will continue to receive basic care. However, the California Catholic Conference has opposed the law, arguing that the state is imposing its ideology and going against the interests of other states and citizens who do not support abortion. The association claims that denying the legitimate interests of other states to protect unborn children and public health sets a dangerous precedent.
The signing of this law is part of a larger effort by the Democrats in California’s Legislature to protect access to abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, half of the states have passed laws either banning or restricting access to abortion. Some states have specifically targeted the abortion pill mifepristone, which is FDA-approved for up to the 10th week of pregnancy and is now the most common method of abortion in the country. The advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom has challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, but a federal judge’s ruling to revoke the approval has been temporarily blocked by the Supreme Court pending appeal.
