Lodi News-Sentinel

Can you still get an abortion in California?

- Marisa Kendall

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade on Friday. So what does this move mean for California­ns? Here’s what you need to know:

Can I still get an abortion?

Yes. The reversal of Roe v. Wade won’t limit abortion access in California, where the right to the procedure is protected several times over. In fact, California is considered one of the most accessible states in the country when it comes to abortion. The California Supreme Court upheld the right to choose the procedure in 1969 — more than three years before Roe v. Wade — and in 1972, the state amended its Constituti­on to enshrine the right. In 2002, the state enacted the Reproducti­ve Privacy Act to guarantee a woman’s right to choose.

So if the procedure is still legal in California, why would the Supreme Court decision have any impact here?

With more than half of the states in the U.S. poised to fully or partially ban abortions now, experts expect California will see an influx of women coming in from out of state to get the procedure. After Texas outlawed most abortions last year, dozens of patients have come to the Bay Area seeking the service, according to local affiliate Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, estimated California could see an increase in the number of people seeking abortions of anywhere from 12% to 3,000%, depending on how strict other state’s anti-abortion laws are.

California abortion providers worry the surge in demand will impact everything from security at their clinics to wait times for services. And it’s not only women seeking abortions who may be affected — Planned Parenthood offers everything form prenatal care to hormone treatment for transgende­r patients.

What is California doing to prepare?

In May, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 245, which eliminates out-of-pocket costs for abortion-related services — essentiall­y making the procedure free starting next year for patients with health insurance. In budget negotiatio­ns, Newsom and state legislatur­es have agreed to allocate tens of millions of dollars to help people seeking abortions from out of state. Legislator­s also are considerin­g a package of bills to help California meet the surge, which could do everything from increase the number of providers to protect practition­ers from liability.

And California voters likely will see the issue on their November ballot. A bill moving through the legislatur­e would ask California­ns to vote on whether to amend the state constituti­on to guarantee the right to an abortion. The Constituti­on already protects the right to privacy, which has been interprete­d to cover the right to an abortion, but with this vote, California­ns could explicitly enshrine the reproducti­ve right.

What is the law here around abortion, anyway?

Abortion is legal in California for any reason up until the fetus can survive outside the womb — about 24 weeks. After that, the procedure is legal only if the pregnancy threatens the health or life of the mother. Patients under the age of 18 do not require parental consent.

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