Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to let Arizona doctors provide abortions in California
SACRAMENTO, California — Doctors in Arizona can give their patients abortions in California under a proposal announced Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom to sidestep a ban on nearly all abortions in that state.
It would only apply to doctors in good standing in Arizona and their patients, and would only apply until the end of November. Arizona’s 1864 law banning nearly all abortions unless the mother’s life is in danger goes into effect June 8.
“Arizona Republicans continue to endanger women — embracing a draconian law passed when Arizona was still a territory, not even a state,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not stand idly by.”
In addition to Arizona, fourteen other states have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy. While access to abortion in California has never been seriously threatened, Newsom — widely seen as a potential post-2024 presidential candidate — has made defending that access a priority of his administration.
Newsom pushed for abortion access to be enshrined in the California Constitution. He approved $20 million in taxpayer money to help women in other states pay for abortions in California. He signed dozens of laws aimed at making it harder for other states to investigate women coming to California for abortions, including banning social media companies from complying with subpoenas or warrants.
His actions have endeared him to key Democratic Party constituencies, despite some of the state’s other problems — including homelessness, wildfire insurance and a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
In 2022, months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, California launched a publicly funded website to promote the state’s abortion services, including information about financial assistance for travel expenses and to let teens in other states know that California do not need to have parental consent to have an abortion in the state.
It has also become a major talking point in Newsom’s role as the top surrogate of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. With money left over from his 2022 re-election campaign, Newsom created a political action committee he calls the “Campaign for Democracy,” which has paid for billboards and TV ads in Republican-led states to counter their leaders’ efforts criticize to ban or restrict access to abortions. . In February, he launched ads in several states criticizing proposals aimed at banning out-of-state travel for abortions.
When an Alabama lawmaker introduced a bill to make it a crime to help someone under the age of 18 get an abortion without notifying parents or guardians, Newsom paid for an ad depicting a young woman representing the state tried to leave but was stopped by a police officer who demanded she take a pregnancy test.
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Associated Press writer Adam Beam contributed to this report.
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Sophie Austin reported from Sacramento. Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @sophieadanna