Last updated on December 19, 2025
California is characterized as a most protective state by the Guttmacher Institute.
Abortion is protected up to fetal viability with exceptions for preservation of the mother’s life or physical health. California has a shield law protecting abortion providers from investigations or prosecution by other states. The state constitution protects the right to an abortion.
In the US, people who are not white and people with low incomes are more likely to experience barriers to reproductive health care access.
IN THIS STATE
As of 2023, 8.4 million women1 are of reproductive age in California.
- 10.7 percent are low income (lower than the national average)
- 15.7 percent are likely eligible for Medicaid because their income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (lower than the national average)
- 71.5 percent are nonwhite, and Hispanic people (43.9 percent) and Asian or Pacific Islander people (16.9 percent) are the largest nonwhite groups (all higher than the national average)
- 8 percent are uninsured (lower than the national average)
California has expanded Medicaid and thus provides coverage to adults without dependent children up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and pregnant women up to 322 percent of FPL. California has extended pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage up to 12 months postpartum. California is using state funds to cover abortion for Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid also covers family planning services for people not otherwise eligible for Medicaid with incomes up to 205 percent of FPL.
Accessing Abortion Care
In 2020, 173 clinics provided abortions. In 2025, 183 clinics provided abortion in California. This number does not include hospitals or telehealth providers.
Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are organizations—often operated by anti-abortion, nonmedical, and/or religiously affiliated groups—that aim to deter pregnant people from certain reproductive health care services, including abortion and some contraceptive methods. In 2023, there were 146 CPCs in California.
California does not have any of the following patient restrictions on abortion access:
California does not have any of the following abortion provider restrictions:
Accessing Contraceptive Care
According to Power to Decide, over 2.6 million women of reproductive age in California live in contraceptive deserts, putting them at increased risk of a mistimed or unintended pregnancy.
California has the following protections for contraception access:
What to Watch For
In 2022, California voters passed Proposition 1, the Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom, which amended the state constitution to “expressly include existing rights to reproductive freedom—such as the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.” Since that time, the state legislature has passed several bills to ensure access to abortion care in the state, including strengthening the state’s safe haven status for patients and providers, protecting reproductive health information, and expanding the reproductive health care workforce.
In September 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 260 into law, allowing pharmacists to fill prescriptions for medication abortion without listing the name of the patient or provider. The bill also strengthens shield law protections for providers authorized to prescribe mifepristone. The Equity in Birth Control Act (Assembly Bill 50) was also signed into law, which removes barriers to over-the-counter contraceptives for Medi-Cal recipients.
1 Though we use the terminology of woman/women, we recognize that not all individuals capable of pregnancy identify as women.
