SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom and several California legislative leaders on Tuesday promised to protect medication abortion in California, but it’s not clear how the state will move if the United States Supreme Court decides to limit the availability of Mifepristone by stripping its FDA approval.
“I believe in the rule of law, the other side doesn’t,” Newsom told reporters when asked if he would comply with however the court decides.
The governor provided no new information in Tuesday’s news conference on how exactly the state plans to protect access to the pill. He and state lawmakers referenced 17 bills that are being considered this year at the state Capitol to expand abortion access and protections. It wasn’t until after the news conference ended that his staff told reporters Newsom is floating a handful of ideas that were soon to be announced in a news release.
That news release showed proposed action that includes protecting the licenses of pharmacists who dispense the pill in California, regardless of how the court decides on the FDA approval. Newsom’s office said the legislation was not in writing and had not yet identified an author to carry the bill.
When asked if that proposal was contrary to Newsom’s statement during the news conference, Newsom’s Senior Advisor of Communications, Anthony York, said, “No, the federal law will be the federal law.”
“The idea through all of this has been to try to react to the ever more repressive court decisions that come out and tailor policy to the extent possible that would be legal in California, anything we can do to protect access and providers,” York said.
The governor will also pursue legislation that would shield out-of-state patients’ private health information from other state laws.
York said the governor will finetune the proposals once the Supreme Court makes its decision. Newsom may provide another update on the state’s response by the end of the week.
Source: kcra
