SAN DIEGO — Nurse practitioners will soon be allowed to perform first trimester abortions in California without the supervision of a doctor.
SB 1375, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, was recently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
It takes effect in January 2023.
"This law will increase the number of providers in our communities and ensure more access to critical care across the board," said Senate President pro Tempore Atkins, during a news conference downtown Monday.
"Nurse practitioners are already seeing these clients. They already provide extensive healthcare under standardized procedures. They’re trained, they’re skilled and they’re ready to step up for their clients," she said.
SB 1375 was introduced in February 2022, right around the time when other states began introducing laws to limit abortions.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
The California legislature passed the bill in August.
In late September, Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law.
According to Atkins, California continues to see a big influx of patients from other states coming here to get abortions.
She said SB 1375 will help expand access to abortion care, allowing qualified nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives to perform first trimester abortions without the supervision of a doctor.
The president of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners, Cynthia Jovanov, said there are about 30,000 nurse practitioners in the state. She said this law means about 20,000 of them could qualify to perform abortions.
"We have a huge physician shortage right now and really the nurse practitioners have stepped in and stepped up to provide access, especially to our underserved communities," said Jovanov.
California is not the first state to enact a law like this. Nine other states already allow nurse practitioners to perform abortions without the supervision of a doctor.
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