California could become ?sanctuary? for care amid threat to abortion access

California could become a "sanctuary" for people seeking reproductive care if the supreme court overturns Roe v Wade and dramatically curtails abortion access in the US.

The California Future of Abortion Council, made up of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, and lawmakers on Wednesday released a list of 45 recommendations for California to consider if the high court overturns the 48-year-old decision that forbids states from outlawing abortion.

The recommendations, crafted with help from some of the state's most important policymakers, include possibly paying for travel, lodging and procedures for people from other states. With an estimated $31bn surplus next year, the state has money in its coffers to fund abortion services for patients from other states.

"We'll be a sanctuary," said Gavin Newsom, California's governor, adding he's aware patients will likely travel to the state from elsewhere to seek abortions. "We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections."

Abortion access in the US is under threat as the supreme court weighs a law from Mississippi that bans abortion after 15 weeks gestation and ultimately seeks to overturn Roe v Wade. More than two dozen states are poised to ban abortion if the supreme court gives them the OK next year.

The state has already seen the effect of abortion bans in other states. In 2020, Planned Parenthood, which comprises about half of California's abortion clinics, said it served 7,000 people from other states. California affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, also reported a slight increase in patients from Texas when a law in that state outlawing the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect.

A huge influx of people from other states "will definitely destabilize the abortion provider network", said Fabiola Carrion, the interim director for reproductive and sexual health at the national Health Law Program. Out-of-state abortions would also likely be later term procedures, Carrion said, which are more complicated and expensive.