Abortion Accessibility Act

Every body should have the freedom to decide, if, when, and how to raise a family, regardless of their income and without stigma or shame.

  • California may lead the nation when it comes to protecting abortion rights, but without access to affordable care, the right to abortion is a right in name only.
  • California cannot truly be considered a reproductive freedom state until all Californians are able to access and afford abortion care.
  • The Abortion Accessibility Act (AAA) ensures that California will continue to lead in the fight for reproductive freedom and access to reproductive healthcare by eliminating the financial barrier to abortion and expanding access for all Californians.

Logos of organizations that aid in the Abortion Accessibility Act

Our Values

Access to abortion is critical to our health, equality, and economic security. Being able to decide when and if to have children is essential to achieving reproductive justice.. Our ability to make our own decisions about pregnancy and parenting is essential to staying healthy, taking care of our families, and contributing to our communities and society.

Nobody should be forced to carry a pregnancy because they couldn’t afford an abortion. We should have policies in place that support every body’s dignity and ability to determine their own futures. Tangible abortion access is more than policies on paper. And although California has good laws, we know right now thousands of Californians can’t get the healthcare they need because of cost.

We have an opportunity to make abortion access that much more real by passing the Abortion Accessibility Act, which would give everyone the ability to make decisions about pregnancy and parenting that is best for themselves and their families regardless of cost.

FAQ

In California, abortion is a basic healthcare service and insurance policies are required to include abortion coverage. The Abortion Accessibility Act (AAA) removes cost-sharing for abortion care among all state-licensed health plans and insurers so that no one in California is unable to access care because of the cost.

The high costs associated with abortion create a significant barrier to care and disproportionately affect people of color, LGTBQ individuals, people with disabilities, young people and people experiencing poverty, perpetuating systemic health care disparities.

While California is one of six states that require health insurance plans to cover abortions, enrollees must still make payments for cost-sharing and insurance marketplace tiers differ in how much the enrollee must pay out of pocket for services. People enrolled in commercial insurance are being charged with high deductibles and copays that can range from $40 to thousands of dollars.

Additionally, the longer it takes someone to raise funds for an abortion, the higher the cost becomes which in turn means they must raise more funds.

On average, an abortion costs a patient at 10-weeks’ gestation $500 and increases significantly as the pregnancy progresses. The median cost of an abortion at 20 weeks gestation is $1195. While people endeavor to accumulate the funds, the cost rises as a result of the delay.

Abortion is a time-sensitive procedure and the consequences of being unable to access this care are too high. Research shows that when a low-income woman cannot access a wanted abortion, they are four times more likely to fall into poverty than a person who is able to pay for that care. Lack of access also forces people to continue an unwanted pregnancy, and these individuals are more likely to experience negative economic consequences as well as serious complications, death, or suffer from anxiety and loss of self-esteem after giving birth.