Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, abortion laws and access to care have varied substantially from state to state.
California has taken steps to safeguard abortion rights and access during that time, including as recently as May 2024, when Governor Newsom signed a bill helping Arizonans seeking or providing abortion care in our state, as well as late 2023, when Governor Newsom signed measures bolstering privacy protections for personal reproductive health care data, safeguarding abortion providers against out-of-state legal action, curbing copays for abortion procedures, and expanding abortion care training opportunities for medical residents and other providers, among other developments. In California, you have the legal right to [privacy, including the right to choose abortion care, to choose or refuse birth control, and to access reproductive health care, free from harassment and discrimination.
As we face an unprecedented reproductive health care crisis nationwide, I am here with you and for you. I know that abortion care is health care. Reproductive rights are human rights, and you and all Californians deserve the freedom to make your own medical decisions—including about abortion.
Please review the resources below for information on knowing your rights, understanding Congressional action to advance reproductive freedom, and accessing care in California.
NEW: June 2024: On June 13, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously denied an attempt to limit access to mifepristone, which would have restrict reproductive health care for Californians and families across the United States. Click here to read more about the decision and my full thoughts on what the decision means in our fight for abortion rights
Know Your Rights & Access Care
On a national, state, and local level, you have rights, and you have options for access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care. Do you have questions about those rights and options? See the relevant resources below.
National Rights & Resources
- Department of Health and Human Services Reproductive Rights Resource Website HERE
- Office of Population Affairs Reproductive Health Information HERE
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Reproductive Health Tools for Patients and Providers HERE
- Data and Statistics HERE
- Health Resources Services Administration Health Center Information HERE
- Find a Health Center HERE
- HIPAA and Reproductive Health Privacy Rule Resources HERE
- Department of Justice Reproductive Rights Task Force Information HERE
- Department of Education Title IX Fact Sheet HERE
- Department of Defense
- Military Health System
- Reproductive Health Care Resources HERE
- Reproductive Health Q&A HERE
- Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
- Updated Reproductive Care Policies HERE
- Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
- Updated Assisted Reproductive Services Policies HERE
- Department of Veterans Affairs Reproductive Health Information HERE
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Pregnancy Discrimination Information HERE
- Department of Homeland Security
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Medical Care Standards HERE
Reproductive Health Care Coverage
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Office of Secretary Xavier Becerra
- HHS, Labor & Treasury Joint Guidance on Birth Control Coverage HERE
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Revised Emergency Abortion Coverage Policies HERE
- File an EMTALA Complaint HERE; En Español aquí
- Medicare Abortion Coverage Policies HERE
- Department of Defense
- Defense Health Agency
- TRICARE Reproductive Health Coverage Policies HERE
- Health Insurance Marketplace
- Abortion Information HERE
- Birth Control Information HERE
- Department of Labor Employer-Based Health Benefits ‘Ask EBSA’ Hotline Information HERE
Family Planning Resources
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Office of Population Affairs
- Adolescent Health & Family Planning Resources HERE
- Title X Program
- 2021 Updated Rule HERE
- Clinic Finder HERE
- Resources for Grantees HERE
Fertility Care Resources
- Department of Health and Human Services
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Fact Sheet HERE
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Infertility FAQ HERE
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Resources HERE
Educational Resources
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Office on Women’s Health Educational Tools HERE
- Pregnancy Information HERE
- Birth Control Information HERE
- National Institutes of Health
- National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus Educational Tools HERE
State Agencies
- State of California Official Abortion Information Website HERE
- CA Office of the Surgeon General Reproductive Health Information HERE
- CA Department of Justice
- Office of the Attorney General Reproductive Rights Information HERE
- Reproductive Health Care Access in County Jails 2023 Report HERE
- CA Department of Insurance Abortion Coverage FAQ HERE
- CA Health and Human Services Agency
- Department of Health Care Services
- Women’s Health Information HERE
- Doula Directory HERE
- Abortion Supplemental Payment Program Information for Community Clinics HERE
- Reproductive Health Access Demonstration Medicaid Waiver Request Information HERE
- Department of Health Care Access and Information
- Reproductive Health Care Access Initiative Resources HERE
- Department of Managed Health Care
- Your Health Care Rights HERE
- State Action Highlights HERE
- CA Department of Education Sexual Health Resources HERE
- CA Privacy Protection Agency Privacy Rights Information HERE
Government Representatives
- Find your representatives HERE
- California Legislative Women’s Caucus Reproductive Freedom Resources HERE
- Family Planning Resources HERE.
Local: San Luis Obispo
- Family Planning Resources HERE.
Local: Ventura
- Public Health Department HERE.
Congressional Pro Choice Caucus
I am proud to be a member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus (PCC) — a group of over 150 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives committed to advancing reproductive rights, freedom, and justice.
From moving key legislation forward to amplifying the voices of those on the Central Coast and around the country demanding action, I consistently stand with my PCC colleagues as we fight for your reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy.
You can learn more about PCC here.
Legislation
Whether we are in the majority or minority, my colleagues in Congress and I are constantly working to advance bills that safeguard your reproductive rights and access to care, protect your private health care data, and reaffirm U.S. commitment to global health and human rights worldwide, among other key issues. Read more about those initiatives here:
Abortion Rights
The right to abortion is a fundamental right—one that must be safeguarded in federal law. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade and enshrine the national right to abortion into law. I was also proud to sign the Pro-Choice Caucus’ discharge petition, which is only six signatures from forcing a vote on the House Floor on this critical bill, even over GOP leadership objections.
I am a strong supporter of abortion rights legislation, including the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, to protect the right to travel between states for reproductive health care; the Equal Rights Amendment, to enshrine gender equity in the U.S. constitution; and the STOP Comstock Act, to repeal parts of existing laws that anti-abortion extremists want to misapply to ban abortion.
Access to Contraception
You, and only you, have the right to decide whether, how, and when you become a parent. Every person deserves that right—and deserves to have their choice of the birth control method that works best for them, free from political interference. As extreme GOP attacks on contraception are already taking place across the nation, I am proud to stand with 9 in 10 Americans and support the bipartisan Right to Contraception Act. This bill would enshrine the right to contraception into federal law and protect all people who use it from attempts to restrict access to birth control.
Access to Abortion
In addition to protecting the right to abortion, true reproductive freedom means every person has access to the reproductive health care they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code. This requires decisive action to abolish harmful and discriminatory restrictions, such as the Hyde Amendment—a policy prohibiting all taxpayer funding for abortion care, blocking abortion care coverage for all those who rely on federal government-sponsored or subsidized health insurance. This predominantly impacts poor women and women of color. While the extreme GOP consistently pushes to codify the racist, classist Hyde Amendment, House Democrats successfully kept it out of the House-passed spending bills multiple years running in previous Congresses. Now, we are working to eliminate it once and for all, which is why I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, to help ensure everybody can access the full spectrum of health care, including abortion care, regardless of their income or the source of their insurance.
I also joined multiple amicus briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court to urge our courts to protect access to the safe, effective abortion medication mifepristone and to emergency abortion care.
Access to IVF
Every person should have the right to build their family if, when, and how they choose without facing baseless restrictions. Since the Dobbs decision, threats to the future of fertility services like assisted reproductive technology (ART), and particularly in vitro fertilization (IVF), have emerged nationwide. House Democrats stand by your right to IVF and are fighting to preserve your access to the fertility care methods that help thousands of Americans each year build their families. That is why I proudly support the Right to IVF Act to codify the right to fertility care into law and was proud to sign the Pro-Choice Caucus and Democratic Women’s Caucus discharge petition to demand a vote on the House floor on this important bill.
Data Privacy
Your reproductive health care choices are nobody’s business but yours and your health care provider’s—and that information should never be publicized against your will or weaponized. We need to protect personal reproductive health data, including about abortion, which is why I am proud to support the My Body, My Data Act to create a new national standard for protecting the privacy of personal reproductive and sexual health information.
Global Health & Human Rights
Reproductive rights are human rights, and I am proud of the work Congress is doing to advance those rights here in the U.S. and throughout the international community. The United States is the leading provider of global health assistance in the world, and longstanding, ideologically motivated policies have a shameful history of harming that aid’s effectiveness and our leadership on the world stage. The Global Gag Rule—also known as the Mexico City Policy—has been in effect intermittently for decades, largely under Republican administrations. The version of the rule in place during the previous administration prevents U.S. funds from going to any organizations that not only provide abortion care, but provide information on abortion care, even if U.S. funds are not spent on those services. This forced organizations receiving U.S. global health funding to choose between receiving U.S. resources and providing comprehensive reproductive health care in the best interest of their patients. On top of that, the Helms Amendment continues to bar all U.S. global health assistance from funding abortion care, even in countries where that care is legal. When in place, these policies contribute to a massive burden of unsafe abortions and maternal mortality in the countries they impact, counteracting our global health goals and the health and wellbeing of communities around the world.
While extreme GOP legislators push to codify these and other policies, to curtail human rights and slash global health and family planning funding, I am proud to stand with my Democratic colleagues in support of the Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights (HER) Act, to repeal the Global Gag rule; the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, to repeal the Helms amendment; and the Support UNFPA Funding Act, to reaffirm our nation’s commitment to the UN’s family planning agency and global gender equality.
My offices and team are here to help you and answer your questions.
For assistance with federal agencies and for local resources, contact my district offices:
Santa Barbara: (805) 730-1710
San Luis Obispo: (805) 546-8348
Ventura: (805) 730-1710
To leave a policy comment and for questions about federal legislation, contact the Washington, D.C. office at: (202) 225-3601.
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