The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced a bill that will allow doctors from Arizona to travel to his city to perform an abortion. Newsom's decision comes after the Arizona Supreme Court issued an almost total ban on abortion earlier this month.
California bill that will benefit Arizona
The bill would allow Arizona doctors to provide abortion services to Arizona residents within the state of California.
"Arizona's law is the first border state law that will directly affect the state of California," Newsom said to the press. "And instead of just acknowledging that fate and that future, we are trying to get ahead of this law."
Good reputation of doctors
According to Newsom, the bill will allow healthcare workers with good reputations in Arizona "to provide basic care to patients who are fleeing from the state of Arizona to the state of California."
What is the new bill about?
The new legislation protects Arizona doctors who come to perform abortions in California from the enforcement of the law in other states. According to the new bill, California law enforcement would be prohibited from cooperating with law enforcement from other states seeking to prosecute individuals under the abortion ban, said California State Senator Nancy Skinner, the bill's author.
"Our sisters from Arizona can come to California to receive the medical care they need, from their own trusted doctors, and doctors from Arizona can come to California without fear of facing two to five years in prison," Skinner said.