Gavin Newsom signs bill into law shielding providers of abortions, gender-affirming care

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a raft of bills into law Wednesday aimed at further cementing abortion protections in the state.

Newsom said in a statement that abortion is enshrined in the California Constitution, and that the state will continue to protect both seekers of reproductive health care and providers of the same, as “radical politicians continue their all out assault on women’s health care with dangerous and deadly consequences.”

The governor signed nine bills in all. One was SB 345, by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. It shields not only abortion providers, but also medical staff who provide gender-affirming medical care to transgender patients from criminal or civil liability in states that have criminalized such procedures. The measure will also allow people who live in those states to contact a California health care provider through telehealth or videoconferencing and have medication shipped to them by a California pharmacy.

The bill also bars California law enforcement, government officials and government contractors from cooperating with out-of-state prosecutions of those providing abortion or gender-affirming care. It blocks California-based social media and tech companies from sharing private communications with law enforcement regarding legally protected health care.

“With Gov. Newsom’s signing of SB 345, health care providers, physically located in California, will be able to offer a lifeline to people in states that have cut off access to essential care, and be shielded from the draconian laws of those states,” Skinner said in a statement.

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