Will more abortion protections matter?

Undergraduate student Gracie Semmens attends a Prop 1 rally at UC Berkeley in Berkeley on Nov. 4, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento
Student Gracie Semmens attends a rally in support of Proposition 1 at UC Berkeley on Nov. 4, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

In large measure in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, California lawmakers passed a slew of additional safeguards for abortion access, as well as putting a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, which voters overwhelmingly approved.

A headliner among the new laws is one that shields women from prosecution if they end a pregnancy, even if it’s self-induced or outside the medical system. The new law also ends the requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths, after two Kings County women were charged after testing positive for drugs.      

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