Newsom Proposes $40M To Cover Abortions For Uninsured [Survey]

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proposed $40 million to offset the cost of providing abortions to uninsured low and moderate-income individuals, part of a newly expanded Reproductive Health Package.

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The $40 million would be part of an extra $57 million that Newsom proposed be added to the package he outlined in January. The additional programs would bring the total cost of the package to $125 million.

Newsom will unveil his new budget Friday. It must be approved by state lawmakers by June 15 and will go into effect July 1.

Newsom's proposals would include the following.

• $15 million in grants to community-based reproductive health organizations.
• $1 million to develop a new website dedicated to educating the public about the state’s reproductive rights and resources
• $1 million to research the state’s unmet reproductive needs.
• $20 million in scholarships and loan repayments to health care providers providing reproductive health services.
• $20 million to subsidize abortion care for Covered California consumers and removing Medi-Cal requirements for in-person follow-up visits and ultrasounds that are not medically necessary.

Newsom also proposed a series of tax reforms to lure businesses to California from states that are likely to ban abortion. Newsom will add specifics of that plan when he unveils the full revised budget plan.

Newsom's office added that he wants to update tax credits, employer grants and other business incentive programs to provide “additional consideration for companies leaving states that have enacted restrictions on reproductive rights and anti-LGBTQ+ laws.”

The state currently offers $180 million in tax breaks to lure out-of-state business under a program called California Competes.

“California will not stand idly by as extremists roll back our basic constitutional rights; we’re going to fight like hell, making sure that all women — not just those in California — know that this state continues to recognize and protect their fundamental rights,” Newsom said in a news release.

“We’re expanding access to these critical services, welcoming businesses and their employees fleeing anti-abortion states, and reaffirming our commitment to continuing to work closely with the Legislature and reproductive rights stakeholders to further solidify California’s leadership on abortion rights,” he added.

Californians Support Abortion Rights

A 2021 poll from the Public Policy Institute of California showed that 72 percent of Californians, including 54 percent of California Republicans, opposed overturning Roe v. Wade. Those figures have remained more or less consistent since the poll started in 2005.

Meanwhile, state Democrats proposed 13 legislative measures to protect abortion rights, including a bill signed into law Tuesday that bans private insurance companies from charging co-pays or deductibles for the procedure.

In March, Newsom signed a bill eliminating out-of-pocket costs for abortion services.

Other bills under consideration would help people travel to California for abortions and help shield them from prosecution or subpoenas in their home states.

Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon have advanced an amendment that would codify the right to an abortion into the state constitution.

A similar effort by U.S. Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill failed Wednesday.

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