Sacramento, California — A new law signed Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom will allow Arizona doctors to temporarily come to California to perform abortions for patients.
California’s law is intended to give Arizonans the option to get legal abortions from doctors in the coming months. The move was a backlash to the Arizona Supreme Court’s recent decision to restore a law banning nearly all abortions in Arizona except for rape or incest (first passed in 1864 but not enforced for decades).
In 2022, the Supreme Court will decide Roe v. Overturning the Wade decision allowed states to enact their own abortion laws. More than 20 states have since implemented abortion bans to varying degrees. In Arizona, it’s still unclear if or when the Civil War-era ban will be enacted. But Democrats who control the California Legislature didn’t want to take the risk.
California’s new law, which takes effect immediately, allows licensed doctors in Arizona to come to California and perform abortions for patients until the end of November.
The earliest the repeal can take effect is fall. The state Supreme Court granted a stay of execution until Sept. 26, and there could be further delays because a 45-day stay was granted in a separate, related case.
The Arizona Legislature quickly voted to repeal the 1864 law, and Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, promptly signed the bill. However, the repeal would not take effect until 90 days (usually in June or July) after the Arizona Legislature ends its session.
Currently, Arizona law allows abortion up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Arizona-licensed doctors who want to perform abortions in California will still need to fill out an application. However, if a physician meets certain requirements, the law requires California regulators to approve the physician’s application within five business days.
“California is ready to protect reproductive freedom,” Newsom said.
He pledged to make the state a “sanctuary” for people from other states seeking abortions. California has passed dozens of laws to protect abortion access, including allocating $20 million to taxpayers to help pay for out-of-state patients traveling to California for abortions.
The bill Newsom signed Thursday does not include any new funding to help Arizona patients travel to California for abortions. But Newsom partnered with the advocacy group Red Wine and Blue to raise money from private donors to help Arizona patients travel to California.
The group, based in Ohio and launched by the Arizona Freedom Trust, seeks to organize suburban women. According to the website, they raised just over $111,000 toward their nearly $500,000 goal.
Newsom and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature worked quickly to pass the law. But some Republican lawmakers have questioned the need for the bill, given uncertainty about enforcement of the law in Arizona and opposition to its implementation by top state officials.
But Democrats, who control the California Legislature, kept up the pressure.
“California has once again made it clear to everyone who needs or provides essential reproductive care,” said state Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley and the bill’s author. “We are on your side.”
The law requires Arizona doctors to tell California regulators where they will perform abortions in the state. But the law prohibits California regulators from posting information about Arizona doctors on their websites other than the doctor’s name, identity and license number.
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This story has been corrected to say the earliest a near-total abortion ban could go into effect in Arizona would be the fall.
