California bill granting Arizona doctors abortion access still needed, supporters say

A bill that would allow Arizona doctors to perform abortions for their patients in California passed out of a state Assembly committee on Monday.

Senate Bill 233 — written by state Senator Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat — was hailed by members of the state’s Legislative Women’s Caucus late last month. It’s a response to an Arizona Supreme Court ruling upholding a near-complete ban on abortion passed in 1864. Someone convicted of performing or helping someone get an abortion could face two to five years in prison.

While the Arizona Legislature has since passed a bill repealing that ban, which Governor Katie Hobbs signed, the ban will remain in effect for another few months, said Assemblymember and Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, a Winters Democrat.

“Even with the repeal, this bill will be very vital,” she told the Assembly Business and Professions Committee on Monday.

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