California Legislature Oks Non-physician Abortions, Declares Support for Women's Right to Abortion.(Brief Article)

In the first major revamping of the state's 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act, the California legislature has expanded the range of personnel who can perform non-surgical abortions and passed a measure that says California will "protect" a woman's right to abortion even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

The so-called "Reproductive Privacy Act" (SB 1301) removes the provision assuring that all abortions would be done by "a holder of the physician's and surgeon's certificate." Under SB 1301 "non-surgical" abortions may now be performed by nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Surgical abortions will still be done by physicians.

While a 1972 California Supreme Court case eliminated many of the provisions of the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act, it left intact provisions that required physician-only abortions. The Court said, "[W]e perceive no constitutional impediments... to those portions of the [Health and Safety Code] section that require abortions to be performed by holders of physician's and surgeon's certificates."

The U.S. Supreme Court as recently as 1997 in Mazurek v. Armstrong upheld a Montana statute that restricted the performance of abortions to licensed physicians. (Subsequently, citing the state constitution, the Montana Supreme Court declared that the limitation unconstitutional.)

California state Senator Ray Haynes (R-Murietta) and Assemblyman Tim Leslie (R-Tahoe City) attempted to retain the physician-only provisions by amendments offered on the floors of the Senate and Assembly. The amendments were rejected, largely along party lines.

SB 1301 passed 22-12 in the 40-member Senate and 50-25 in the 80-member Assembly. Its passage came despite the pleas of pro-life lawmakers not to lower the standard of care for women choosing drug-induced abortions, especially in light of the recent "adverse events" report of the federal Food and Drug Administration, which included two deaths following RU486 abortions and a 21-year-old patient who suffered a cardiac arrest.

At the end of a particularly difficult hearing on the bill, Sen. Haynes warned that it appeared those pushing for non-physician abortions would have to see women die before they would realize the dangers in removing the ...