California lawmakers prepare legislation to end out-of-pocket abortion costs

Protestor wearing pro-choice pin.
(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

California lawmakers are preparing themselves for a nationwide hit to abortion rights by teeing up "countermeasures to expand access for those who live both in and out of the state, focusing first on resurrecting a bill that would eliminate costly copays for services," writes the Los Angeles Times.

In the session beginning in January, legislators are hoping to move forward S.B. 245, "which would put an end to out-of-pocket costs paid by those seeking abortions that on average range from $300 for a medication abortion to nearly $900 for a procedural abortion," writes the Times.

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"Given what we have seen unfold in the last three months, I think there is a new urgency for this bill," state Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D) told the Los Angeles Times. "I am optimistic it will get a good hearing in the Assembly and hit the governor's desk."

Renewed interest in the bill also comes after Newsom and other legislative leaders in September asked the so-called California Future of Abortion Council to prepare a plan to make California an abortion sanctuary; the council earlier this month recommended 45 changes to improve access for residents and outsiders, "including exhorting lawmakers to prioritize SB 245 and get it past the finish line." Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.