Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Announces 2022 Sponsored Legislative Package

April 4, 2022
Brandon Richards, Director of Communications
[email protected]

Bills Will Build Upon California’s ‘Reproductive Freedom’ Leadership; Provide Blueprint for Other States & Localities

SACRAMENTO—Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) released the organization’s sponsored legislative package for the 2022 California Legislative Session. The legislation builds on the success of the prior year, in which Governor Newsom signed multiple bills into law protecting and expanding access to abortion, and more broadly access and affordability of sexual and reproductive health care for all in California. Planned Parenthood’s Capitol Week (April 18 – April 22), where advocates and supporters across the state meet with legislators to discuss priorities, will focus heavily on the legislation below, in addition to educating lawmakers on the need to expand access, and the importance of addressing existing barriers to sexual and reproductive health care throughout California.

“It is imperative California policymakers take swift and significant action throughout the 2022 legislative session to protect and expand access to abortion services, and sexual and reproductive health care more broadly,” said Jodi Hicks, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “California must continue to take bold action to increase protections and preserve timely access to abortion services for Californians, and for those who will seek care here from out-of-state because it’s the right thing to do. We must expand equitable access to health care so that reproductive freedom and health equity is a reality for every person."

The bill package specifically seeks to provide civil and criminal protections for patients and providers here in California, establish a fund to provide financial support for practical and logistical assistance someone may need when accessing abortion (childcare, travel costs, food, lodging, etc.), create a state supported website with comprehensive information regarding abortion care, services, and resources available here in California, increase the workforce related to abortion services throughout the state, and more.

The bill package includes the following legislation:

• AB 1666 (Bauer-Kahan): Protects patients and providers in California from civil liability judgments for providing reproductive health care to patients when the claims are based on laws in other states that are hostile to abortion rights and are contrary to the public policy of California.
• AB 2091 (Bonta): Enhances privacy protections for medical records related to abortion care against disclosures to law enforcement and out-of-state third parties seeking to enforce hostile abortion bans in other states.
• AB 2134 (Weber): Establishes the “California Reproductive Health Equity Program” which will provide grants to providers who provide uncompensated care to patients with low-incomes and those who face other financial barriers to accessing abortion and contraception.
• AB 2205 (Carrillo): Requires the qualified health plans under Covered California to report annually to the Department of Insurance and Department of Managed Health Care the total amounts of funds collected in the segregated accounts (established under the ACA to hold premium payment of $1 per member per month and from which claims for abortions must be paid) to determine the funds currently in those accounts and how much is being used each year to pay claims.
• AB 2223 (Wicks): Ensures that no one in California will be investigated, prosecuted, or incarcerated for ending a pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss.
• SB 107 (Wiener): Protects trans youth, their parents, and providers for seeking or providing gender-affirming care in California and provides refuge from anti-trans, hostile states and their laws.
• SB 1142 (Skinner & Caballero): Establishes “The Abortion Support Fund” to provide grants to California organizations that assist patients in overcoming barriers to abortion through direct practical and logistical support. Additionally, creates an “Abortion Information Webpage” with comprehensive information regarding accessing abortion services in California, to provide patients one point of entry to connect with the nearest and most accessible abortion provider, obtain information about coverage or financial support for care, and logistical assistance and resources for travel, lodging, or other needs.
• SB 1245 (Kamlager): Establishes a reproductive health pilot project in Los Angeles County to support innovative approaches and patient-centered collaborations to safeguard patient access to abortions, regardless of residency.

“This package of legislation, coupled with the broader package supported by the California Future of Abortion Council, can serve as a blueprint for other states looking to take action and must be considered and enacted as swiftly as possible,” continued Hicks. “People being forced out of their home state to seek essential health care, like gender-affirming care or abortion services, are already counting on California, among a handful of other states that are doing the right thing to deal with these crises. We must step up. We must once again meet the moment – just as California and Californians have done time and time again.”

Planned Parenthood looks forward to working together, just as it has done in the past, with our partners, the authors of these bills, and the broader committees and respective chambers of the California Legislature to see that the seven Planned Parenthoods across California, their 100+ health centers, and most importantly the patients that seek care are heard, advocated for, and championed in the coming months.

This year is the most consequential year for abortion rights since 1973, and more broadly sexual and reproductive health care is coming under increasingly more severe and frequent attack across the country. Already, more than 500 abortion restrictions have been introduced in more than 40 states across the country. And in many states, attacks on gender affirming care as well as contraception are increasingly being targeted by extreme politicians.

 

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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is the state public policy office representing California’s seven separately incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates. Through advocacy and electoral action, PPAC promotes sound public policy in areas of sexual and reproductive health care and sex education.