Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill allowing Arizona doctors to perform abortions in California

PHOENIX — A new measure signed into law Thursday temporarily allows Arizona abortion providers to perform the procedure in neighboring California.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted the bill, which takes effect immediately, in response to a recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling that said a near-total abortion ban from 1864 is enforceable in the state.

The law also would allow patients to receive abortion services from their Arizona health care providers in California through Nov. 30.

“Arizona Republicans tried to turn back the clock to 1864 to impose a near-total abortion ban across their state. We refuse to stand by and acquiesce to their oppressive and dangerous attacks on women,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.

The fate of Arizona’s 1864 ban, which doesn’t have exceptions for rape or incest, remains up in the air. The state Supreme Court pushed back its enforcement by several months, meaning Arizona's 15-week abortion ban will be the law of the land until Sept. 26, according to the Arizona attorney general's office.

The California Legislative Women’s Caucus took the reins in drafting the state's legislation. Its chair, state Sen. Nancy Skinner, said the new law can provide the women of Arizona with an abortion safe haven when the 1864 statute takes effect.

“Our Arizona sisters can come to California to get the health care they need from their own doctors, who they know and rely on,” Skinner said in a statement. “California has made it crystal clear for all those who need or deliver essential reproductive care: We’ve got your back.”

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a repeal of the ban on May 2, but the repeal won’t go into effect until 90 days after the Legislature’s legislative session ends, which is likely to come in July.