A new California law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, will allow doctors to prescribe abortion care medication to patients anonymously.
The measure, the latest effort by Democrats in the state to safeguard abortion access, would also keep abortion drugs like mifepristone available even if the FDA revokes its approval.
Why It Matters
The legislation is expected to have broad national impact because a majority of medication abortion services across the country use pharmacies based in California to dispense and ship the medication.
What To Know
The bill, which was approved by wide margins in the state Assembly and Senate earlier this month, will allow health care providers to mail abortion pills with only a minimum of identifying information: Medication labels and paperwork in the packages could omit the name of the patient, prescriber and pharmacist.
Pharmacists who leave identifying information off the medication will instead have to record it in a log that law enforcement can only see through a subpoena, and which out of state entities will be barred from seeing.
Several states—including New York, Washington and Massachusetts—recently approved laws allowing prescribers to mail abortion pills with only the name of their medical practice listed on the packaging, rather than their individual names. But because many of those providers rely on California pharmacies to ship the medication, they have still been bound by California’s rule requiring the prescriber’s name on the label. But the new California bill would change that.
Ameet Sarpatwari, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told The New York Times that “patient names have historically been on prescriptions and packaging to safeguard safety and prevent misuse and abuse.” But, he said, the change should not raise major concerns given abortion pills’ established safety record. But Brigid Groves of the American Pharmacists Association warned that removing patient names from prescriptions more broadly could complicate safety protocols.
“The concern is, if we start this process or this exclusion for one class of medications, how far does that go?” she said. But, with abortion pills, she said, “I understand wanting to make sure that in this case, people aren’t being targeted or going to have other repercussions because of the medication they’ve been prescribed.”
Supporters say the measure is designed to protect doctors and patients from states with abortion bans that are pursuing legal action against providers operating under shield laws. These laws, already in place in at least eight states, block compliance with out-of-state subpoenas and extradition requests. Shield-law providers have become a lifeline for abortion access, serving an estimated 12,000 patients each month—about one-eighth of all U.S. abortion patients.
The rise of medication abortion has drawn backlash from Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups, who have long opposed mifepristone, the drug most commonly used in such procedures. Critics, including the California Family Council argue the bill loosens safety protocols and point to risks such as hemorrhaging and infection.
California Baptist for biblical Values and the Pacific Justice Institute Center for Public Policy also argued in opposition to the bill, citing “increased complications” of the drug and “loosened safety protocols.”
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Republican attorneys general that the FDA is reviewing the safety of mifepristone. He said the review will evaluate real-world outcomes and cited adverse reaction data from a study conducted by the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
What People Are Saying
Gavin Newsom said: “California stands for a woman’s right to choose. I’m proud to sign these bills to protect access to essential health care and shield patients and health care providers in the face of amplified attacks on the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.”
Assembly Majority Leader and Legislative Women’s Caucus Chair Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said: “With the Governor’s signature on AB 260, California will continue to be a national leader in protecting reproductive and privacy rights. I appreciate the partnership with the Administration as we fight for the sanctity of the patient-health professional relationship, and the safety of Californians and their health providers.”
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California CEO and President Jodi Hicks said: “Today, even in California, access to abortion and reproductive health care hangs in the balance. President Trump’s Administration and Republican members of Congress continue to attack reproductive health care access on all fronts, including ongoing threats to medication abortion and already successfully defunding all 109 Planned Parenthood health centers in California. And we know they won’t stop there. As Planned Parenthood fights to keep health centers open to provide the reproductive health care so many Californians rely on, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California is grateful to the Governor for signing Assembly member Aguiar-Curry’s bill, AB 260. This significant policy will help safeguard access to medication abortion for many Californians and protect the ability of our state’s abortion providers to continue providing this life-saving care.”
James Bopp Jr., the general counsel for National Right to Life, told The New York Times the legislation to strengthen shield laws “almost horrifying.” He said the California bill would result in “no accountability for abortion drugs or the people that prescribed them,” adding “even if you find the doctor, they could say, ‘Well I didn’t prescribe those pills.’ How are you going to prove that the pills she took in this box with no names on it were the ones that he prescribed?”
What Happens Next
The California bill is expected to intensify legal clashes between states that protect abortion access and those that enforce bans. Anti-abortion groups and Republican-led states are likely to challenge the measure in court.