Assemblymember Mia Bonta Applauds Governor Newsom’s Refusal to Comply with Louisiana’s Attempt to Punish California Doctor for Providing Abortion Care

• Daniel McGreevy
• Communications Coordinator
• (916) 319-2589
• [email protected]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Today, Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, released the following statement admonishing the State of Louisiana for attempting to extradite a California doctor for providing abortion medication that is legal in California:

"Louisiana should be ashamed for attempting to drag this country backward by criminalizing health care and threatening doctors for doing their jobs. California saw this grim reality coming, and our law is clear: our state will not comply with extreme extradition requests designed to punish medical professionals for providing lawful, essential reproductive care. Abortion is health care, protected under California's Constitution, and California will stand firmly in defense of patients, providers, and that fundamental truth," said Assemblymember Mia Bonta.

Assemblymember Bonta has been a leader for reproductive justice in the California State Legislature and served as a fierce proponent of the 2022 Legislative Women's Caucus Reproductive Justice Policy Priority Package, including the following enacted bills:

• AB 2091 (Bonta) Establishes requirements to protect the private information of individuals who seek or consider an abortion.
• AB 1666 (Bauer-Kahan) declares another state's law authorizing a civil action against a person or entity that receives or seeks, performs or induces, or aids or abets the performance of an abortion, or who attempts or intends to engage in those actions, to be contrary to the public policy of this state. Prohibits the application of that law to a case or controversy heard in state court, and would prohibit the enforcement or satisfaction of a civil judgment received under that law.
• AB 1918 (Petrie-Norris) establishes the California Reproductive Health Service Corps for the purposes of recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse workforce of reproductive health care professionals who will be part of reproductive health care teams to work in underserved areas.
• AB 2134 (Akilah Weber) establishes the California Reproductive Health Equity Program within HCAI to ensure abortion and contraception services are affordable for and accessible to all patients and to provide financial support for safety net providers of these services.
• AB 2223 (Wicks) prohibits a person from being subject to civil or criminal liability, or otherwise deprived of their rights, based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome or based solely on their actions to aid or assist a pregnant person who is exercising their reproductive rights.
• AB 2205 (Carrillo) requires, beginning July 1, 2023, a health care service plan or health insurer offering qualified health plans, as defined, to annually report the total amount of funds in the segregated account maintained pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Requires the annual report to include the ending balance of the account and the total dollar amount of claims paid during a reporting year.
• SB 1142 (Caballero and Skinner) requires the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA), or an entity designated by the agency, to establish an internet website where the public can find information on abortion services in California. Requires CHHSA to also develop, implement, and update as necessary, a statewide educational and outreach campaign to inform the public on how to access abortion services in the state.