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OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued an updated information bulletin to all California District Attorneys, Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, and State Law Enforcement Agencies reminding them of California’s laws that prohibit law enforcement cooperation with other states’ investigations and prosecutions of abortions that are legal in California. The updated bulletin comes in response to Louisiana’s recent indictment of a California physician for allegedly helping to provide a medication abortion in violation of Louisiana law. Medication abortion is legal under California law, and law enforcement is prohibited from arresting or cooperating with investigations or prosecutions of individuals seeking, providing, or assisting with access to reproductive healthcare that is legal in California.
“California remains firmly committed to serving as a safe haven for reproductive rights. We will not allow anti-abortion extremists from outside our state to reach in and undermine the protections guaranteed under California law,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Whether the attacks are coming from the Trump Administration or another state, I am reminding our law enforcement agencies that they cannot assist in prosecuting individuals who seek or provide reproductive healthcare that is lawful in California.”
In today’s information bulletin, Attorney General Bonta outlines the following steps for law enforcement who are asked to arrest or otherwise assist with the prosecution of individuals providing or accessing reproductive healthcare in California:
Attorney General Bonta has been a strong defender of reproductive rights. In December, he opposed a push by Congressional Republicans to condition the extension of Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies on additional abortion restrictions. He has also pressed forward with his lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital, which alleges that the hospital violated multiple California laws due to its refusal to provide emergency abortion care to people experiencing obstetric emergencies. In addition, Attorney General Bonta played a leading role in opposing the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate veterans’ and their families’ access to abortion care, and launched a statewide survey to assess how hospital emergency departments are complying with reproductive healthcare laws, particularly when abortion care is the medically necessary emergency treatment.
Californians who believe their right to reproductive healthcare, including accessing abortion, has been violated should immediately file a complaint at https://oag.ca.gov/report.
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