California Attorney General Rob Bonta is aiming to make the Golden State the top destination for people seeking to get an abortion with a pair of legislative proposals.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned abortion lawmaking to the states, California has aimed to be the top state for abortion access. With the looming return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House, Bonta is seeking to protect medical abortion and the ability for abortion facilities to remain open and operate in all cities in the state.
“Progress will always prevail, and I will use the full force of this office and all the tools at my disposal to fearlessly and fiercely defend your constitutional rights, including your reproductive rights,” the attorney general added.
The first proposed piece of the legislation, the Medication Abortion Access bill, would offer protections for medical abortion and “shield manufacturers, distributors, authorized healthcare providers, and individuals from any civil, criminal, or professional liability when legally transporting, distributing, or administering medication abortion in California.”
Democratic Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, one of the co-authors of the bill, said that while the state enshrined abortion into its constitution with 2022’s Proposition 1, additional laws protecting medication abortion are necessary.