© 2026 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

California proposes law to allow Arizona doctors to perform abortions as ban proceeds

NPR | By Joe Hernandez
Published April 22, 2024 at 1:42 PM EDT
In a file photo from Nov. 6, 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears at a rally in support of Proposition 1, a state constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to abortion and contraception.
Damian Dovarganes
/
AP
In a file photo from Nov. 6, 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears at a rally in support of Proposition 1, a state constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to abortion and contraception.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state is working on emergency legislation that would allow doctors from Arizona to come to California to provide abortions.

The announcement comes days after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the state should follow a law from the 1860s that outlaws abortions in all cases except when the pregnant person's life is in danger.

Newsom, a Democrat, said Sunday during an appearance on MSNBC's Inside with Jen Psaki that California is in a position to help those who are set to lose the ability to have an abortion in neighboring Arizona.

"I think really we need to start focusing on making the kind of progress that's needed," Newsom said.

On Monday, Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards told NPR via email that the administration was working closely with the California legislature on the proposal and also coordinating with the offices of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, both of whom are Democrats.

"Arizona AG Kris Mayes identified a need to expedite the ability for Arizona abortion providers to continue to provide care to Arizonans as a way to support patients in their state seeking abortion care in California," Richards said. "We are responding to this call and will have more details to share in the coming days."

The Arizona Supreme Court justices stayed enforcement of their April 9 ruling for 14 days and possibly longer, permitting abortions to continue for now.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022 and eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, a number of more conservative states have been limiting or banning the procedure, while other states have taken steps to protect reproductive rights, including California.

Over the weekend, Newsom also debuted a new TV ad through his Campaign for Democracy PAC that depicts a fictional scene of two women being pulled over by a police officer and asked to take a pregnancy test just before they can drive out of state.

According to the PAC, lawmakers in Alabama, Tennessee and Oklahoma have introduced legislation to bar minors from traveling out of state to get an abortion without parental consent.

All three states have among the "most restrictive" laws against abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights and tracks abortion laws across the U.S.

"Alabama's abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. Now, Republicans are trying to criminalize young women's travel to receive abortion care," Newsom said in a post on X. "We cannot let them get away with this."

In November a federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law that was intended to prevent minors from going out of state to obtain abortions without parental consent.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
National News
Joe Hernandez
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Environment
    Introduction to White Ibises
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    White Ibises are common birds of Florida wetlands that increase in numbers with arrival of migrants from more northern areas. While they normally feed in shallow water, they have also become birds of grassy areas such as our yards, parks, and highway and canal rights-of-way. Adults have white plumage with only the tips of outer primaries black -- a characteristic that reduces wear of those feathers. Sex of adults is often easy to distinguish when the birds are in a group. Males are larger with a longer, straighter (but still curved) bill.Females are smaller with a shorter, often more-curved bill. Young White Ibises always have white on their underparts, but recent fledglings can be almost all gray-brown. Over their first year the more-gray plumage is replaced by brown and then gradually changes to the white of an adult. Through much of the year the legs, bill, and face of a White Ibis is flesh-colored or pink, but as nesting approaches the bill, face, and legs become vibrant red. Both sexes have beautiful light blue eyes.
  • Jennifer Johnson and Sue Ryan co-chair the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women's Luncheon, Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon Thursday February 05, 2026
    Health
    'Go Red For Women' event helps put the focus on heart disease
    Jennifer Crawford
    National Wear Red Day 2026 was celebrated on Friday via the Go Red for Women Campaign shining a light on heart disease, the leading killer of women. The Southwest Florida Go Red for Women effort took center stage at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon Thursday.
  • A two-year-old boy displays a typical rash from a measles ionfe
    Health
    Ave Maria clinic numbers reflect slowing of measles cases, last positive case was Feb 2; vaccination recommended
    Combined dispatches
    An outbreak of measles cases among students at Ave Maria University in Naples is apparently on the decline. The Mater Dei Clinic at the Collier County institution reported Friday that there had been no new testing in the last 72 hours. Additionally, the clinic reported that the last positive case reported had been on Monday, February 2.