CA Doctors Can Prescribe Abortion Meds Anonymously Under New Law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law legislation that allows doctors in the state to prescribe abortion care medication anonymously, as well as protect them from lawsuits or disciplinary action.

The legislation is the latest effort by California Democrats to protect abortion access in the state and against what Newsom has called overreach by anti-choice lawmakers in states such as Texas.

"California stands for a woman’s right to choose," Newsom said in a statement. "I’m proud to sign these bills to protect access to essential health care and shield patients and health care providers in the face of amplified attacks on the fundamental right to reproductive freedom."

The law's enactment comes three years after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade and determined the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion.

The law is one of several that Newsom has signed in recent years that ensure reproductive freedom in the state. In November 2022, California voters also passed Proposition 1, an amendment that enshrined the right to reproductive freedom, including abortion care and contraception, into the state's Constitution.

The legislation signed by Newsom on Friday ensures California-regulated health insurance plans will continue to cover abortion drugs like mifepristone, regardless of FDA approval status.

In addition to giving pharmacists the ability to dispense abortion drugs without identifying information on the packaging, the law also shields attorneys assisting patients in other states with access to reproductive care from State Bar discipline.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California CEO and President Jodi Hicks lauded the legislation.

“As Planned Parenthood fights to keep health centers open to provide the reproductive health care so many Californians rely on, (we are) grateful to the Governor for (this) bill," Hicks said. "This significant policy will help safeguard access to medication abortion for many Californians and protect the ability of our state’s abortion providers to continue providing this life-saving care.”

The new laws came just days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the Food and Drug Administration to review the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone.

In a Sept. 19 response a letter sent to him by Republican state attorneys general, Kennedy wrote that the HHS, through the FDA, was "conducting its own review of the evidence, including real-world outcomes and evidence, relating to the safety and efficacy of the drug," CBS News reported.

"Recent studies — such as the study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), which you highlighted in your letter — indicate potential dangers that may attend offering mifepristone without sufficient medical support or supervision," the letter continued. "FDA's own data collected between 2000 to 2012 indicated 2,740 adverse events, including 416 events involving blood loss requiring transfusions. Since then, safeguards for women regarding the administration of mifepristone have been significantly reduced."

Abortion advocates, however, continue to insist the drug is safe.

"More than 100 studies confirm mifepristone's exceptional safety record," the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement sent to CBS News. "Today, medication abortion accounts for nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S, and the nation's leading medical associations now stress mifepristone's importance not only for abortion but for miscarriage care as well."

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation. It was first approved in September 2000 and has since been used by more than 7.5 million women, according to the ACLU.