By Kristen Hwang

WHAT THE TWO BILLS WOULD DO

Legislators introduced more than a dozen bills this session designed to improve and protect access to abortion in California. The two centerpiece bills of the Future of Abortion Council’s package — SB 1142 and AB 2134 — were guaranteed $60 million in the June budget, but legislators were left to hash out how that money would be spent.

SB 1142, by Democratic senators Anna Caballero of Merced and Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, incubated the Abortion Practical Support Fund, which was established in the budget. The $20 million fund will give grants to groups that help women cover the cost of travel, lodging, child care and other expenses that commonly create barriers to accessing abortion. This measure increases oversight over the fund, requiring annual reports be made to the Legislature, and directs the state Health and Human Services Agency to create a website outlining abortion services available in the state. Legislators also made last-minute amendments  to the health omnibus budget bill that allow non-Californians to use money in the fund, a change that advocates rallied hard for in the final days.

AB 2134, by Democratic Assemblymembers Akilah Weber of San Diego and Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens, would establish the California Reproductive Health Equity Fund to offset the cost of free or reduced-cost abortions or contraceptive services for low-income patients. Legislators approved a one-time $40 million appropriation for the fund as part of the budget. That money was to be allocated over six years, but this bill makes the appropriation continuous.

WHO SUPPORTS THEM

The bill is supported by the California Future of Abortion Council, a collective of more than three dozen reproductive rights groups convened by Newsom in 2021 to examine abortion access in the state. Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California co-sponsored both bills and sits on the council’s steering committee.

WHO IS OPPOSED

The California Catholic Conference has led the opposition on all of the abortion bills, including these two, and is among a handful of other religious groups opposed. The California Department of Finance is opposed to both bills, noting that the fiscal effect is unknown but potentially in the tens of millions of dollars.

WHY IT MATTERS

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections, Democratic leaders in California positioned the state as a reproductive health “safe haven.” Now, with dozens of other states moving to ban or severely restrict abortions, California has become the nearest abortion provider for an estimated 8,000 to 16,000 people. Already, providers like Planned Parenthood and ACCESS Reproductive Justice California have reported influxes of out-of-state patients.

GOVERNOR’S CALL ✅

Newsom signed the bills on Sept. 27.