Attorney General Bonta: California Will Remain Ironclad in Protecting Reproductive Rights

SACRAMENTO – Recognizing that the incoming presidential administration poses a threat to reproductive rights, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced two sponsored bills related to reproductive healthcare. The Medication Abortion Access bill, joint authored by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento) and Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), will ensure that Californians continue to have access to abortion care, including medication abortion, and will 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. The Attorney General Enforcement of the Reproductive Privacy Act (RPA) bill, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), will, among other things, allow the Attorney General to seek monetary penalties from local government entities that interfere with the reproductive rights of Californians by using their power to block or obstruct abortion providers from opening in their regions.

“As a father of two incredible young women, who have fewer rights than their mother and grandmother, I see the concern in their eyes as they navigate a world that is chipping away at their reproductive rights. I know this concern is felt by individuals across this country too,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “I want to make it unequivocally clear: California will remain a safe haven for reproductive rights and access to abortion care, no matter who is in the White House. We have been preparing for this moment, and today’s legislation doubles down on our commitment to protect those seeking reproductive healthcare, including access to medication abortion. 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.”

“It is our job as legislators to ensure that women have access to comprehensive healthcare and that decisions about her reproductive health remain between her and her physician,” said Assemblymember Akilah Weber, M.D. (D-La Mesa). “As a board certified OB/GYN I am aware of the complexity and uniqueness associated with each pregnancy and strongly advocate against generalized policies that can ultimately cause harm and in some cases lead to unnecessary maternal deaths.”

“We here in California have been fighting to maintain reproductive rights for women across the country. I’m proud to stand with Assemblymember Krell to fight to protect those rights for California women, because women should make their own health care decisions, said Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). “As Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, we will continue the fight as women in other states face increasing restrictions to the reproductive health care they need.”

“With Prop 1, we enshrined the right to abortion in California’s constitution. But this right is meaningless if it can’t be safely accessed,” said Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento). “This law ensures that women in California will have access to medication abortion, even in an uncertain federal environment.”

“The medication abortion protocols are not only safe, effective and most widely used methods of abortion care, they are an integral part of the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, said Onyemma Obiekea, Policy Director, Black Women for Wellness Action Project. “Safeguarding continued access to medication abortion in California is imperative for women and birthing people in our state to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families with dignity. We are deeply grateful to the Attorney General and champions in the legislature, who are committed to ensuring that our communities have the resources necessary to support our reproductive autonomy and determine our reproductive destinies.”

"The fundamental right to reproductive healthcare is non-negotiable in California. No individual should face barriers to accessing care due to the deliberate actions of anyone,” said Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda). “By empowering the Attorney General to enforce the Reproductive Privacy Act, this legislation ensures that our laws are more than words on paper—they are protections in practice. I’m proud to stand with Attorney General Bonta in defending the reproductive freedoms of every Californian.”

“For two decades, anti-abortion extremists have targeted Mifepristone and sought to interfere and inhibit people’s access to this safe and effective drug, even in states like California where abortion is legal. We know the incoming Trump administration and anti-abortion majority in Congress threaten pregnant people’s access to medication abortion and we must preserve and protect its availability in California,” said Planned Parenthood CEO and President Jodi Hicks. “Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California is proud to co-sponsor this legislation with Attorney General Bonta and Assemblymember Krell to protect access to medication abortion and the ability of providers like us to provide patients with the care they need and deserve. As we prepare for the challenges ahead, PPAC is committed to working alongside our state, legislative, and organizational partners to fiercely defend reproductive freedom in California, including the right of all patients to access their preferred care, when and where they need it.”

“Bold state action like that in Medical Abortion Access is urgently needed to protect abortion access as we prepare to face swift and severe threats to sexual and reproductive health nationwide,” said Shannon Olivieri Hovis, Vice President of Public Affairs at Essential Access Health. “Essential Access Health proudly administers three abortion access grant programs established by the state of California and has served as the lead implementation partner helping UCs and CSUs integrate medication abortion on campus. We are grateful to Attorney General Bonta and Assemblymember Krell for their resolute leadership to protect access in California, and we will continue to work day in and day out with our partners and elected leaders to secure additional protections critical to safeguarding abortion access in California.”

For decades, medication abortion has been an accessible and affordable medication for individuals who need critical, time-sensitive reproductive care, including for abortions and the treatment of miscarriages. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000, mifepristone, one of two pills used in medication abortions, is safe and effective. Mifepristone is so safe that it has a better safety record than household medications such as Tylenol, penicillin, and Viagra.

If the federal government tries to ban the mailing and distribution of medication abortion, the Medical Abortion Access bill would shield manufacturers, distributors, authorized healthcare providers, and individuals from civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for accessing, mailing, shipping, receiving, transporting, distributing, or administering medication abortion in California.

Currently, there have been occurrences of interference with the reproductive rights of Californians from local government entities using their power to block or obstruct abortion providers from opening in their regions. The most recent example was the City of Beverly Hills’ interference with an abortion provider’s ability to open within its borders. The Attorney General Enforcement of the RPA bill would allow the Attorney General to seek monetary penalties for RPA violations from government entities, as well as allow the Attorney General to put the expense of those investigations and civil prosecutions on the government entities who violate the law through recovery of the Attorney General’s fees and expenses.

Attorney General Bonta has been unwavering in his continued commitment to defend reproductive rights in California and nationwide. Last month, he held Beverly Hills accountable for preventing a reproductive health clinic from opening, violating California’s constitutional right to abortion. This September, he sued a hospital in Northern California over its failure to provide emergency abortion healthcare. Earlier this year, he co-led a coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief before the en banc court of the Ninth Circuit, supporting the Biden administration’s challenge to Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion. Working with the California State Legislature, he also sponsored legislation, now law, to protect reproductive digital information and prevent the arrest of individuals or the disclosure of information by law enforcement in an investigation related to any abortion already legal in California. 

The text of both bills will be available in the coming days and can be found here and here once available.