The bill would not let California extradite doctors who are facing charges in another state for providing abortion medication. It would also shield doctors from having to pay fines. And it would let California doctors sue anyone who tries to stop them from providing abortions.
The bill would only protect doctors who are in California. If a doctor left California to provide an abortion to someone in another state, that doctor would not be protected. It also would not protect patients in other states who receive the medication.
State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley and the author of the bill, said her intent is to make sure California residents who are traveling in other states or living there temporarily — like college students — can still have access to medication that's legal in their home state. But she acknowledged the bill would also apply to California doctors who treat patients who live in other states.
Other states have tried to block the distribution of the abortion pill, known as mifepristone. Attorneys general in 20 states, mostly with Republican governors, have warned some of the nation's largest pharmacy companies they could face legal consequences if they distribute the pill within their states.
Most abortions are outlawed in Idaho, including medication abortions. Blaine Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center — a group that opposes abortion rights — said California has a responsibility to extradite physicians who break Idaho laws.
“The arrogance of such a proposal is astounding,” Conzatti said of Skinner's bill. “It flaunts the traditional relationship between states and would upend our federal system altogether.”
Skinner's bill goes beyond abortions. It would also protect doctors for mailing contraceptives and transgender-related medications.
California already has laws that prevents courts from enforcing out-of-state judgments on abortion providers and volunteers. That law was aimed at protecting doctors who provide abortions to people who travel to California from other states. Abortion opponents say laws like that are illegal because they violate a clause in the U.S. Constitution that says states must give “full faith and credit” to the laws of other states.
Federal courts have recognized an exception to that clause, including laws in one state that violate the “public policy” of another state. Skinner's law declares it is the public policy of California that doctors should not be charged for providing abortion medication.
