Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Celebrates Successful 2021/2022 Legislative Session

October 3, 2022
Brandon Richards, Director of Communications
[email protected]

10 PPAC Sponsored Bills Signed; 46 Bills Supported by PPAC Signed

Historic CA Future of Abortion Council Bill Package Signed

$200+ Million in New Funding Aimed at Increasing Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care

SACRAMENTO – Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is marking the end of the 2021/2022 legislative session with 10 sponsored bills signed into law and numerous other notable successes. Thanks to the work of the bill authors and reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, this session saw historic success for protecting and expanding sexual and reproductive health care, including access to abortion services, as federal protections were eliminated by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade.

“As federal protections for abortion were eliminated, California leaders listened to experts and advocates and took swift and significant action throughout this legislative session to protect and expand access to abortion and sexual and reproductive health care more broadly,” said Jodi Hicks, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “This bold and comprehensive legislative agenda is a blueprint for other states looking to protect people’s rights to essential health care as they come under new and increasingly hostile attacks from extreme politicians.”

The legislative agenda pursued by PPAC this session was supported by more than $200 million in new state funding to increase access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion services. Those investments are already having an impact as the Newsom administration recently launched Abortion.CA.GOV, a crucial resource PPAC advocated for this year, that has been viewed more than 70,000 times, with more than 50% coming from people outside of California, in just its first two weeks.

“The investments and the work by the California Future of Abortion Council will be essential as California continues to live up to its promise of being a Reproductive Freedom state and be a beacon for people in need—providing them information, funding, education & more—regardless of where they live,” said Hicks.

In addition to this session’s priority bill package, PPAC supported 46 additional bills related to health care, patient and youth rights, bodily autonomy, improving health equity, and decreasing health care costs for all Californians.

“This year, Californians not only grappled with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the overturning of Roe v Wade, but existing institutional barriers to care like cost, geography, availability and more,” Hicks continued. “Planned Parenthood is proud to work with partners from across the state to make care more accessible to all Californians.”

On behalf of the seven Planned Parenthoods across California, their 100+ health centers, and most importantly the patients that seek care here in California, PPAC is grateful for the work accomplished with our partners, the authors of these bills, the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, the broader legislative committees, and respective chambers of the California Legislature.

“This year’s collective actions by policymakers and advocates alike show California is meeting the moment, and we plan to keep meeting the moment in the weeks, months and years to come,” Hicks concluded.

The full PPAC legislative package included 8 new priority bills, 2 “two-year” bills from 2021, and a constitutional amendment now on the ballot this November:

• SCA 10 (Atkins & Rendon): Amends the state constitution to explicitly protect access to abortion and contraception.
• 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 245 (Gonzalez): Removes cost-sharing for abortion services, eliminating co-pays and co-insurance in commercial insurance for abortion.
• SB 1142 (Skinner & Caballero): 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.
  • Funding included in the budget signed in June by Governor Newsom and revised in Senate Bill 121 & Assembly Bill 204 created the “Abortion Support Fund” (initially included in SB 1142) to provide grants to California organizations that assist patients in overcoming barriers to abortion through direct practical and logistical support.
• SB 1245 (Kamlager): Establishes the Los Angeles County Reproductive Safe Haven Pilot Project to support innovative approaches and patient-centered collaborations to safeguard patient access to abortions, regardless of residency.
• AB 32 (Aguiar-Curry): Improves patient access to health care by establishing telehealth flexibilities, including allowing some new patients to be established via synchronous telehealth modalities, improving patient access to care, and making telehealth flexibilities from the public health emergency permanent.
• 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.
  • Went into effect immediately due to the urgency clause it contained.
• 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.
  • Went into effect immediately due to the urgency clause it contained.
• 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.

To see the full list of CA FAB Council supported bills, read more here.

 

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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.