Five Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Sponsored Bills Move to Governor’s Desk

September 14, 2023
Jennifer Wonnacott, Chief External Affairs Officer
[email protected]

Bills Continue Path Forward to Reproductive Freedom for All in California

SACRAMENTO—Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is pleased to announce five sponsored bills have passed both legislative houses and are officially headed to the Governor’s desk for signature. The legislation builds on the success of the prior year, in which a historic bill package protecting and expanding access to abortion and other sexual and reproductive health care was passed and signed into law.

“The five bills now on the Governor’s desk help provide abortion patients and providers with additional protections, resources, and reassurances as they face a national landscape that is becoming increasingly hostile and challenging,” said Jodi Hicks, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “Continued action to protect reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy is crucial as we deal with the impacts of a post-Dobbs reality, and what’s more, extremists across the country will stop at nothing to restrict or outright ban access to abortion, birth control, gender-affirming care, and other essential forms of health care. We cannot stop until we achieve reproductive freedom for all and with these five bills on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature, we are a little closer.”

The sponsored bills seek to improve access to abortion and reproductive health care and ensure protections amidst the shifting legal landscape. The bills now on the Governor’s desk are:

• SB 487 (Atkins) Protect California’s Reproductive Health Care Providers – Protects reproductive health care providers from adverse actions as the result of another state’s law restricting comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. This bill ensures providers do not face adverse actions related to their ability to participate in public benefit programs or in health plan and insurance contracts due to enforcement of another state’s hostile law.
• AB 352 (Bauer-Kahan) Protect Patient Privacy and Confidentiality – Enhances privacy protections for patients who access certain health care services in California by ensuring critical health information is not automatically shared with other states through health information exchange.
• AB 1646 (Nguyen) Facilitates Guest Rotations in Medical Residency Programs – Allows for residents from other states to participate in guest rotations in an approved postgraduate training program or an ACGME certified training site in California if the person has graduated from a medical school and is engaged in postgraduate training outside of California.
• AB 1707 (Pacheco) Reproductive Health Care Provider Protections – Enhances protections for reproductive health care providers from adverse actions as the result of another state’s law restricting comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. This bill expands protections from automatic adverse action by a California licensing entity from to all healing arts licensees, protects clinic and hospital licensure, and ensures hospital staff medical staff privileges cannot be denied or revoked based on enforcement of another state’s hostile law.
• AB 576 (Weber) Medication Abortion Equity Act – Aligns medication abortion policies with clinical guidelines and evidence-based research. Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to update its Medi-Cal policies to support full reimbursement for the provision of medication abortion and ensure that patients that rely on Medi-Cal can access medication abortion in line with up-to-date clinical guidelines and peer-reviewed scientific evidence.

“PPAC is proud of the support the bills received during the legislative process and deeply appreciate the partnership with the legislative authors who understand that despite the incredible progress California has made, there is still more work to be done,” added Hicks. “These bills, coupled, with what the Future of Abortion Council and other key allies have put forth this year, continue to move us in the right direction. We must reimagine what is possible for our communities—and a vision for the future that centers those historically left behind will create a more equitable health care landscape for all.”

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