State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, has announced new legislation to strengthen California’s laws to protect those who access abortion or gender-affirming care.
The bill, introduced this week, would add protections for people who come to California seeking refuge from prosecution by other states that have criminalized abortions or health care that supports and affirms an individual’s gender identity.
Skinner’s proposed “Safe Haven” legislation would make it illegal for bail agents or bounty hunters to apprehend people in California who have left another state to avoid criminal prosecution or imprisonment related to that state’s criminalization of abortion or gender-affirming care. The bill would also ensure that benefits such as food and housing assistance would not be denied to individuals who left another state and traveled to California for purposes described above but would otherwise be eligible for such benefits.
“Last year the Legislature, Governor Newsom and California voters took bold action, guaranteeing the right to an abortion and gender-affirming care. But a growing number of states have done the opposite, putting residents who seek essential health care at risk of being prosecuted. My ‘Safe Haven’ bill will ensure that those who come to California fleeing persecution by other states will be free from the worry that a bounty hunter could snatch them up and send them back,” Skinner said.
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