California is considering plans to become an abortion sanctuary state if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.
“The California Future of Abortion Council, made up of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, released a list of 45 recommendations for the state to consider if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade,” The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
The group, started by California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, plans to include some of the recommendations in his January state budget proposal, according to the report.
“We’ll be a sanctuary,” Newsom said, adding he’s aware patients will likely travel to California from other states to seek abortions. “We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections.”
BREAKING: California unveils plan to become an abortion “sanctuary” if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. The proposal would include paying for travel, lodging and procedures for people from other states who want to have an abortion. https://t.co/h7TYgXHvNK
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 8, 2021
California already covers the cost of providing abortion services to select residents based on income level through state Medicaid.
Among the new proposals is the consideration of covering the cost of abortions for women from other states.
“If our state’s abortion provider network is to provide timely care to California patients and absorb any significant portion of the increase in out-of-state patients projected should Roe be overturned, California must take steps now to ensure the growth of a network of clinicians trained in abortion and sexual and reproductive health care,” the Council’s policy plan said.
The plan urged immediate consideration, claiming “if Roe v. Wade is overturned or gutted as most legal observers anticipate, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion, increasing the number of out-of-state patients who would find their nearest clinic in California from 46,000 to 1.4 million – a nearly 3,000 percent increase” the report noted.
The Daily Wire previously reported on the significance of the current Supreme Court case:
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments concerning a case regarding a Mississippi abortion law that could have massive implications for pro-life laws around the country.
The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, concerns a 2018 law in Mississippi that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. As the law stands now, Roe v. Wade and the decisions that came after it hold that states have to allow a woman to be able to get an abortion up to the point of viability, or when the baby can survive on its own outside the womb. Most states hold this mark at around 20 to 24 weeks.
If Mississippi is successful, and the law is upheld, it would directly go against precedent already set by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and it would also cut against Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1992.
Mississippi said in its original petition that the questions presented to the Court do not require them to overturn Roe or Casey. In its brief in July, however, the state wrote, “Roe and Casey are egregiously wrong,” and said the court should overrule those decisions.