As the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, California is preparing itself to become the nation’s abortion provider, and clinics are already making plans for a surge in demand.
California lawmakers will begin debating ideas to bolster the state’s abortion infrastructure when legislators reconvene in January. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has already informed reproductive health experts in California to get ready for more patients, Kaiser Health News’ Rachel Bluth reports.
The Guttmacher Institute recently issued a report that if “the U.S. Supreme Court weakens or overturns Roe v. Wade, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion.” And, if the Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision and abortion were banned in over half the country, California would become a premier destination for those seeking abortions, the Guttmacher report said.
On Dec. 1, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case on the constitutionality of Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that will specifically address whether a state can ban abortion before viability.
The Supreme Court taking the Dobbs case was a surprising development, but the state of Mississippi further asked the high court to outright overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that affirmed a constitutional right to abortion.
The 26 states include Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
The Sacramento Bee reported that an estimated “46,000 people seek abortions in California from outside the state’s borders” currently. That number could increase to 1.4 million if Roe v. Wade were overturned, with the vast majority of abortion seekers coming from Arizona, the Guttmacher report says. {eoa}
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