California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a bill Wednesday that would expand abortion access for Arizona residents after the state's Supreme Court upheld a near-total abortion ban this month.
The bill would allow Arizona doctors to perform abortion services for Arizona residents in California through the end of the calendar year.
"Arizona's law is the first border state law that will directly impact the state of California," Newsom said a news conference Wednesday. "And rather than just acknowledging that fate and future, we're trying to get ahead of this law."
Newsom said the bill would allow health care providers in good standing in Arizona "to be able to provide that basic care to patients fleeing the state of Arizona into the state of California."
The proposed legislation would also protect Arizona doctors who come to perform abortion services in California from enforcement in other states. Under the bill, California law enforcement would be prohibited from engaging with other states' law enforcement agencies that seek to prosecute people under abortion bans, state Sen. Nancy Skinner, who authored the bill, said Wednesday.
"Our Arizona sisters can come to California to get the health care that they need, from their own doctors who they rely on, and Arizona doctors can come to California without fear of spending two to five years in prison," Skinner said Wednesday.
Dr. Tanya W. Spirtos, president of the California Medical Association, stood alongside Newsom and the California Legislative Women's Caucus on Wednesday in support of the proposed legislation.
Arizona's "ruling will put physicians in harm's way for simply providing often lifesaving medical care to their patients," Spirtos said.
"It is unfortunate that Arizona women will be forced to travel long distances out of their own state, away from their support network, to seek health care, but I am proud that California is stepping up to offer assistance," she added.
Newsom spoke a few hours before the Arizona state House voted to repeal the 1864 law that makes abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one. The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration.
