California reveals plans to be abortion ‘sanctuary’
Might pay lodging, travel for those out of state
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state Legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a “sanctuary” for those seeking reproductive care, including possibly paying for travel, lodging and procedures for people from other states.
The California Future of Abortion Council, made up of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, released a list of 45 recommendations for the state to consider if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade – the 48-year-old decision that forbids states from outlawing abortion.
The recommendations are not just a liberal fantasy. Some of the state’s most important policymakers helped write them, including Toni Atkins, the San Diego Democrat who leads the state Senate and attended multiple meetings.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom started the group and said some of the report’s details will be included in his budget proposal in January.
“We’ll be a sanctuary,” Newsom said, adding he’s aware patients will likely travel to California from other states to seek abortions.
“We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections.”
California already pays for abortions for many low-income residents
through the state’s Medicaid program. California is one of six states that requires private insurance companies to cover abortions, although many patients still end up paying deductibles and co-payments.
But money won’t be a problem for state-funded abortion services for patients from other states. California’s coffers have soared throughout the pandemic, fueling a record budget surplus this year. Next year, the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts California will have a surplus of about $31 billion.
California’s affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, got a sneak preview of how people might seek abortions outside their home states this year when a Texas law that outlawed abortion after six weeks of pregnancy was allowed to take
effect. California clinics reported a slight increase in patients from Texas.
Now, California abortion providers are asking California to make it easier for those people to get to the state.
The report recommends funding, including public spending, to support patients seeking abortion for travel expenses such as gas, lodging, transportation and child care.
It asks lawmakers to reimburse abortion providers for services to those who can’t afford to pay – including those who travel to California from other states whose income is low enough that they would qualify for state-funded abortions under Medicaid if they lived there.
It’s unclear about how many people would come to California if Roe v. Wade is overturned. But the Guttmacher Institute estimated about 1.3 million more women would drive to California.