The state of California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom passed a law on Thursday that allows Arizona doctors to legally provide abortions in California for Arizona patients having to travel out of state for care.

Not only does the law protect access to the procedure since Arizona has almost fully banned abortion, but it also permits licensed Arizona doctors to receive temporary medical credentials in California within five days of submitting the necessary documentation to the medical boards.

Nonprofit organizations like Essential Access and Red, Wine, and Blue will cover additional associated fees.

Newsom signed the bill, which goes into effect immediately and ends on November 30, with the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. Still, Arizona’s abortion ban has not taken effect yet as the Arizona Supreme Court agreed to Attorney General Kris Mayes’ request to delay enforcement of the ban until September 26.

Axios revealed that the ban will likely never go into effect if the legislature postpones by June 28, because the repeal earlier this month will take effect 90 days after the end of the session.

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Newsom’s office says this “provides a critical stopgap for Arizona patients and providers” if the ban does take effect.

Back to Roe v Wade

In response, CA Assemblyman James Gallagher who voted against the bill, took a jab at Newsom, saying it “is less about helping women than it is about Newsom’s shadow campaign for president.”

California and other “blue” states expanded abortion access protections after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade.

A recent analysis by The Guttmacher Institute shows that abortions done to patients traveling from other states more than doubled in California, going from 2,270 in 2020 to 5,160 in 2023. It added that 3% of California’s patients traveled from out of state in 2023.

Politico has previously reported that California has been struggling to build new clinics and train new providers, but the governor’s office says Arizona doctors being able to perform in California could help ease it. 

Twelve states have so far either greenlighted or are seeking to allow ballot questions for voters on abortion, including Florida, Maryland, Arkansas, Montana, and Nebraska – which all comes before the November presidential elections. 

Last month, in a video published on his social media platform, former president Donald Trump said he supported abortion for exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother while reaffirming his support for the option of in-vitro fertilization. 

In a possible attempt to attract voters from both political parties for the presidential elections, Trump did not say that he would seek a national ban on abortion if he came back to the White House. 
 
Referencing his conservative picks for the US high court, Trump also said that responsibility for the 2022 Supreme Court decision halting a federal right to the procedure falls on him.
 
In his video, he said “My view is now that we have an abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both,” adding, “And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.”