SAN DIEGO — As the future of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, state leaders have made it clear that California will remain a right-to-choose state.
Even before this week's Supreme Court leak, lawmakers in Sacramento have been pushing a series of bill which would advance access to reproductive health care, including access for patients from other states.
Speaking alongside State Attorney General Rob Bonta Thursday, Assembly member Dr. Akilah Weber of San Diego made it clear where California stands on Roe v. Wade.
"We remain unshaken when it comes to protecting reproductive freedoms in this state," she said.
Dr. Weber has proposed legislation that would help low-income patients whose insurance does not cover reproductive health.
"It will provide grant funding to California safety net providers of abortion and contraceptive services," she explained.
This is part of a sweeping package of bills now advancing through the legislative process in Sacramento.
"I'm very confident we're going to get this through the legislature," said State Senator Anna Caballero, who has co-authored SB 1142.
This legislative proposal is seeking $20 million to create a state-administered fund to assist patients facing financial barriers to obtaining an abortion, while also encouraging the private sector to contribute.
"So that there would be money for co-pays, for transportation, for overnight stay if that's indicated, for child care, those kinds of things," Caballero told CBS 8.
If Roe is ultimately overturned, backers of this bill anticipate that women from other states where abortion is restricted would seek care at California clinics.
"The number that's projected may be 3000 times more than what they currently see," Caballero said, citing data from the Guttmacher Institute.
Caballero said that there are already challenges to accessing care statewide, specifically for those in rural areas.
"So if you end up with people traveling over here to get services that's going to make it even more difficult," she added, "So we're doing everything that we can to be prepared."
This includes pushing for the passage of this bill, which would also set up a web site to provide accurate information on accessing abortion services.
"We will not back down...we will double down," said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego, who has proposed legislation to allow some nurse practitioners to independently perform abortions.
She is also leading the charge to change the state's constitution.
"We are putting the right to an abortion explicitly into the California constitution," she said earlier this week. "And clarifying that it is a fundamental right."
That measure would first have to get two-thirds approval in the State Senate and Assembly, then would go before the voters for the final say this November.
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