Photo: Courtesy of ASMDC.org
In a step (happily) out of line with the current national direction regarding abortion rights, California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will make abortion access more widespread within the state, especially to women in rural communities (we're looking at the entire Central Valley). Under the new legislation, nurse practitioners and other medical personnel will now be authorized to perform first-trimester abortions.
Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins introduced AB 154 to "ensure that no woman has to travel excessively long distances or wait for long periods in order to obtain an early abortion." The bill takes into account information from a recent study, showing that abortions performed by trained non-physicians did not have a higher rate of complications or other incidents than those performed by physicians. According to Ms. magazine, half of all California counties have zero abortion providers — but hopefully, this bill will change that. (Ms. Blog)