What the Texas Abortion Law Means for California

The near-total prohibition connected abortions successful Texas that began past week has reverberated crossed the nation, with termination rights advocates fearful of what’s to travel arsenic lawmakers successful immoderate states pledge to travel suit.

But the looming question successful caller days has been what volition hap to Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized termination nationwide. Some experts accidental the Supreme Court’s determination to allow the strict Texas authorities to spell into effect suggests it whitethorn soon overturn what has been the instrumentality of the onshore for astir 50 years.

But what does immoderate of this mean for wide California? The authorities is location to much than a 4th of the nation’s termination facilities, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a probe radical that supports termination rights.

I reached retired to experts to find retired however the Texas instrumentality and the imaginable repeal of Roe v. Wade could impact California, wherever much than 100,000 abortions are performed each year.

These were the main takeaways:

California’s laws are improbable to change

The close to an termination is enshrined successful our State Constitution, and the caller Texas instrumentality doesn’t impact that.

If the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, which could hap adjacent spring, the close to an termination would beryllium determined by authorities laws.

California and 13 different states, arsenic good arsenic Washington, D.C., person laws connected the books that would support abortions legal, according to information from the Guttmacher Institute.

In 22 different states, termination would astir apt rapidly go amerciable if Roe were overturned. An America without Roe is not 1 without immoderate ineligible abortion, but 1 with wildly unequal access, as my colleagues person reported.

Some radical successful states wherever it’s hard to get abortions whitethorn question to California for treatment. In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a proclamation “welcoming women to California to afloat workout their reproductive rights.”

Texans and others volition travel present for abortions

Last year, Planned Parenthood clinics successful California treated 7,000 patients from different states, a ample information of whom were from Texas, according to Shannon Olivieri Hovis, manager of NARAL Pro-Choice California.

Abortion laws successful states person to Texas whitethorn see waiting periods oregon different restrictions that deter women from seeking attraction there, said Dr. Daniel Grossman, a reproductive sciences prof astatine the University of California, San Francisco.

“While California is geographically beauteous acold from Texas it whitethorn marque consciousness for immoderate radical to get connected a level and travel here,” Grossman told me. “I deliberation we volition arsenic providers present successful California beryllium prepared for accrued request for services.”

Nationwide, 38 percent of reproductive-age women unrecorded successful a region without an termination clinic, according to Guttmacher. In Texas, earlier the caller law, that fraction was 43 percent.

In California, it’s 3 percent.

What’s astatine involvement with the recall

Over the past week, Newsom has seized upon the Texas determination to rally voters. He warned connected Twitter that the prohibition “could beryllium the aboriginal of CA” if the callback were successful.

The stakes consciousness precocious for galore termination supporters: “There’s nary worse timing perchance imaginable than a satellite wherever California ends up with an anti-choice politician astatine a clip erstwhile Roe v. Wade falls and termination rights spell backmost to the states,” Olivieri Hovis told me.

But portion it’s existent that Larry Elder, the leading replacement candidate, has called termination “murder” and said Roe v. Wade was “one of the worst decisions” by the Supreme Court, anybody who replaces Newsom mightiness not beryllium capable to bash that overmuch to rotation backmost termination rights.

Amending the State Constitution requires support from much than 50 percent of voters, a borderline hard to execute fixed the widespread enactment for termination here. And an overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature would astir apt reason termination restrictions.

A caller politician whitethorn beryllium capable to enact comparatively small-scale changes that would astir exclusively impact women connected Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid security programme for low-income radical that funds astir fractional the abortions successful the state, Kaiser Health News reported.

For example, the politician could veto bills expanding entree to termination for Medi-Cal patients oregon acceptable the reimbursement rates for termination truthful debased that nary doctors could spend to execute the procedure.

For more:

• How bash Americans truly consciousness astir abortion? An explainer.

• The Supreme Court sentiment allowing the Texas instrumentality to instrumentality effect was portion of thing known arsenic the “shadow docket.” What is that?

• We cognize that Texan patients travel to California for abortions. But erstwhile I was a newsman astatine The Los Angeles Times, I wrote astir Californian doctors who spell to Texas to bash abortions.

The remainder of the news

• Mandatory pupil vaccinations: The Los Angeles Unified School District, the 2nd largest successful the nation, is poised to mandate coronavirus vaccines for students 12 and older who are attending people successful person. The district’s Board of Education volition conscionable Thursday day to ballot connected the measure, which is expected to walk with wide support. Read much from The Times.

• Recycling law: Many products with the recycling awesome aren’t really recyclable, starring to countless tons of nonrecyclable garbage thrown successful the recycling bin each year. On Wednesday, California lawmakers voted to effort to alteration that.

• Wildfires: California’s wildfire play is “far from over,” a high-ranking occurrence authoritative says. Plus, upwind officials are informing of dry, occurrence upwind successful ample swaths of the authorities implicit the adjacent fewer days, reports The Associated Press.

• What you get: See $1.5 cardinal homes successful Minnesota, Virginia and California.

• Amazon labour practices: The State Senate connected Wednesday approved a measure that would spot limits connected accumulation quotas for Amazon warehouse workers.

• Theranos trial: Opening statements were connected Wednesday successful the proceedings of the erstwhile Silicon Valley enforcement Elizabeth Holmes. Read much from The Times.

• New constabulary bill: California Democrats sent Newsom a measure connected Wednesday that would marque it easier to portion badges from officers with superior misconduct records, according to The Sacramento Bee.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Navy helicopter: A U.S. Navy chopper that crashed disconnected the seashore adjacent San Diego past week and killed 5 sailors had landed connected an craft bearer and experienced vibrations earlier its main rotor struck the formation deck, the Navy said successful a caller report.

• Most costly location successful America: A Los Angeles megamansion known arsenic “The One” has gone into receivership aft the proprietor defaulted connected much than $165 cardinal successful loans and debt, NBC Los Angeles reports.

• Housing shortage: More than an eighth of a cardinal radical — galore of them Latino oregon Asian immigrants with small governmental powerfulness — are crammed into astir 150 blocks successful Koreatown successful Los Angeles, according to Capital & Main.

• Cashier-less Whole Foods: Amazon said connected Wednesday that adjacent twelvemonth it volition bring its cashier-less exertion to 2 Whole Foods stores, including 1 successful Sherman Oaks, reports The Associated Press.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• Delta surge: Hospitals successful the Central Valley person been progressively overwhelmed by the latest surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to The Los Angeles Times.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• New depository successful San Francisco: Several cities from Philadelphia to Los Angeles person museums called Institutes of Contemporary Art, which are known for being experimental and nimble. Now San Francisco is getting 1 of its own. Read much from The Times.

• Regenerative farm: Stephanie Alexandre’s workplace successful Crescent City has embraced regenerative agriculture, improving ungraded wellness and biodiversity, without entree to firm support. This twelvemonth her workplace became the archetypal dairy successful the United States to go “certified regenerative,” Civil Eats reports.

• Homeless lodging slowed down: San Francisco wants to person a edifice successful Japantown into lodging for much than a 100 stateless people. But absorption from locals has led metropolis officials to dilatory down the project, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s question extremity comes from a reader, Laura Bergman, who writes:

I unrecorded successful the San Francisco Bay Area and person household successful Ventura. We don’t thrust down to spot them without stopping successful our favourite off-the-beaten-path tiny municipality called Los Olivos. We bask vino tasting, olive tasting and browsing the cute small town.

And earlier you go, immoderate bully news

The Marin Independent Journal published six-word stories astir friendship. Here are immoderate of the champion ones submitted by readers:

We laughed then, we laughter now. — Jesse N. Alvarez, Novato

Lovers excite. Faithful friends everlastingly delight. — Gailya Magdalena, Lucas Valley

Two hearts, 2 minds, shared thoughts. — Sharon Eide, Novato

Thanks for reading. I’ll beryllium backmost tomorrow. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: U2, for 1 (4 letters).

Steven Moity and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You tin scope the squad astatine CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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