California Abortion Laws: How Your Rights Are Protected

Abortion is legal in California before fetal viability, and after viability whenever it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. The right is written into the state constitution by Proposition 1, which voters approved on November 8, 2022, and into the Reproductive Privacy Act.

Minors do not need a parent’s consent. Medi-Cal and state-regulated private plans cover the care, and there is no residency requirement, so patients from other states can be treated here too.

What California Law Says About Abortion

The state may not deny or interfere with a person’s right to choose or obtain an abortion before viability, or afterward when the abortion is necessary to protect their life or health. That rule appears in Health and Safety Code § 123466, part of the Reproductive Privacy Act (§§ 123460 to 123468).

Proposition 1 added Article I, Section 1.1 to the California Constitution. It bars the state from denying or interfering with reproductive freedom in a person’s most intimate decisions, and it names the right to choose an abortion and the right to choose or refuse contraception. The legislature cannot repeal that language by ordinary statute.

How Viability Is Defined

Under § 123464, viability is the point at which, in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care professional and based on the facts of the case, there is a reasonable likelihood the fetus can survive outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures. The law sets no week count.

Medical experts often put viability around 24 weeks, but the statute leaves the call to the clinician. After viability, the same section protects an abortion that is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.

Stage	What the law allows	Who decides
Before viability	Abortion is a protected right	The patient
After viability	Allowed when necessary to protect life or health	The treating clinician, in good-faith medical judgment
At any stage	No residency, parental consent or waiting period	Not applicable

Illustration of a constitution page and ballot box with a bar showing before and after viability

Who Can Provide an Abortion in California

Physicians can provide abortions at any stage when medically appropriate. Nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants can also perform first-trimester aspiration abortions and provide medication abortion if they complete the required training and follow standardized procedures or protocols. The change dates to AB 154, signed in 2013, and it widened access outside big cities.

For procedures later in pregnancy, patients are generally referred to physicians in hospital or specialized settings.

Medication and Aspiration Abortion

Medication Abortion

Medication abortion uses two drugs. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, which the pregnancy needs to continue. Misoprostol, taken 24 to 48 hours later, causes cramping and bleeding that empties the uterus. It is typically offered through about 10 to 11 weeks of pregnancy.

California providers can prescribe it by telehealth. After a video, phone or online consultation, the pills are mailed to the patient’s home. AB 260, signed September 26, 2025, also requires state-regulated health plans to cover mifepristone whatever its federal approval status.

Aspiration Abortion

Aspiration, also called suction or vacuum abortion, is a short procedure done in a clinic. It is available in the first trimester and into the second. Procedures later in pregnancy use other methods and are done by physicians.

Do Minors Need Parental Consent?

No. A minor in California can consent to an abortion without a parent’s permission and without notifying a parent.

The rule comes from American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren, 16 Cal.4th 307, decided August 5, 1997. The California Supreme Court struck down a 1987 law requiring parental consent or a court order, holding that it violated the state constitutional right of privacy. Because the law was blocked soon after it passed, it was never enforced.

Providers generally keep a minor’s abortion care confidential, as they would for other care a minor can consent to. Separate child-abuse reporting duties apply to health care providers in every kind of care, not only abortion. Rules for minors are set state by state; our guide to Idaho abortion laws explains how they work there.

How Much Does an Abortion Cost in California?

For most insured patients the cost is zero. Medi-Cal covers abortion with no out-of-pocket charge, paid with state funds because federal Medicaid money generally cannot be used. A 2022 law, SB 245, bars deductibles, copays and other cost-sharing for abortion services in state-regulated private plans.

Uninsured patients have other options:

Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant Women gives temporary Medi-Cal coverage while a full application is processed, based on income and without ID or proof of residence.
ACCESS Reproductive Justice, a California abortion fund, helps with procedure costs, travel, lodging and childcare. Its hotline is 1-800-376-4636.
Self-funded plans, often offered by large employers, are regulated by federal law and are not bound by the state cost-sharing ban, so check your plan documents.

California’s Shield Laws

California’s shield laws limit how far another state can reach into California to punish abortion care that is legal here. Health and Safety Code § 123467.5 and related sections bar state officials and licensing boards from taking part in out-of-state actions over legally protected abortion care.

The Reproductive Privacy Act also protects people who aid or assist a pregnant person from civil or criminal liability under California law (§ 123467). California courts and officials will not help enforce out-of-state subpoenas or arrest warrants for conduct that is lawful here. If you are weighing care across state lines, our guide to Nevada abortion laws explains what is allowed there.

Texas and Louisiana have tried to sue or indict telehealth providers in California and New York, and shield laws have so far blocked those efforts from being enforced inside California, according to the KFF analysis of the Louisiana case. How much protection a provider has outside California is less settled, and conflicts between state laws are still being litigated.

Three Laws Signed in September 2025

Governor Newsom signed a package on September 26, 2025, described in the Governor’s press release. Three bills matter most:

AB 260 lets a pharmacist dispense mifepristone or other medication abortion drugs without the patient’s name, the prescriber’s name, or the pharmacy’s name and address on the label. The pharmacist keeps a log that law enforcement cannot inspect without a subpoena. It also shields prescribers from discipline for using the drugs in ways that differ from FDA labeling or its risk program. The text is in AB 260 (Chapter 136, Statutes of 2025), and the urgency clause made it effective immediately.
AB 1525 protects attorneys who help patients and providers navigate other states’ abortion laws from State Bar discipline.
AB 45 prohibits collecting, selling or sharing personal information tied to the precise location of a family planning center, and it blocks release of reproductive health research data to out-of-state law enforcement requests.

Opponents argue AB 260 reduces patient safety information and accountability on the label. Supporters say anonymity is needed to protect providers who mail pills to patients in states with bans.

Diagram of a telehealth abortion pill prescription flow protected by a California shield

Out-of-State Patients

California has no residency requirement for abortion. Patients from states with bans receive the same care and the same legal protections as residents. The state’s shield provisions cover people who aid or assist a pregnant person, not just the provider.

Telehealth also matters here. Providers licensed in California can serve patients located in California, and some shield-law providers elsewhere serve patients in restricted states, which is where the litigation described below arises.

Federal Mifepristone Litigation

The biggest legal risk to medication abortion is federal, not California law. In Louisiana v. FDA, the state challenges the FDA’s 2023 rule that allows mifepristone to be prescribed by telehealth and sent by mail or from pharmacies.

A Fifth Circuit panel ruled for Louisiana in May 2026 and reinstated in-person dispensing nationwide. The Supreme Court stayed that ruling, so telehealth and mail access stayed in place, according to Families USA’s litigation tracker. The Fifth Circuit heard further argument on September 9, 2026.

A separate suit by Florida and Texas seeks to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone altogether, and the FDA is conducting its own review of the drug. Federal law generally overrides state law when the two conflict. If a federal restriction or ban takes effect, California’s constitution would still protect the right to abortion, but courts would decide how far California could keep a drug available.

The state has built a cushion. AB 260 requires state-regulated plans to cover mifepristone regardless of FDA status and protects prescribers who use it differently from federal labeling. California providers can also use misoprostol alone, a regimen the FDA does not label for this use but that is widely used.

How to Find an Abortion Provider in California

Start with the state’s provider finder at abortion.ca.gov, which lists clinics, telehealth providers and funding help. Planned Parenthood health centers operate across the state, and University of California and California State University student health centers must offer medication abortion on campus.

Clinics concentrate in the big metro areas, so patients in rural counties often use telehealth or travel. Funds like ACCESS can help cover that travel. The National Abortion Federation Hotline, 1-800-772-9100, also helps patients locate care and funding.

Exterior of a community health clinic building in a California neighborhood

Frequently Asked Questions

Is abortion legal in California?

Yes. It is legal before viability, and afterward when necessary to protect the pregnant person’s life or health. Proposition 1 put that right in the state constitution in 2022.

How many weeks can you get an abortion in California?

The law sets no fixed week limit. The cutoff is viability, which the treating clinician decides, and which experts often place around 24 weeks.

Do I need parental consent if I’m under 18?

No. Since the California Supreme Court’s 1997 decision in American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren, minors can consent to an abortion on their own.

Will insurance cover an abortion?

Medi-Cal covers it at no cost, and state-regulated private plans cannot charge copays or deductibles for it. Self-funded employer plans may follow different rules, so check your plan.

Can I get abortion pills by mail in California?

Yes. After a telehealth consultation with a provider, medication can be mailed to your home. That access depends on the federal mifepristone cases staying favorable.

Can someone from another state get an abortion in California?

Yes. California has no residency requirement, and its shield laws protect people who provide or help with abortion care that is lawful here.