Reproductive Rights

My message to Californians is simple: Know your rights. Do your research. Connect with programs that will provide you with truthful information and timely reproductive healthcare. Because in California, your right to reproductive healthcare includes the right to safe and legal abortion. -Rob Bonta

Your Rights

Resources

DOJ Actions

FAQ

The California Department of Justice remains committed to supporting, expanding, and defending access to reproductive care for all. California has strong laws in place protecting reproductive freedom.

Abortion is legal, safe, and accessible in California.

Californians who believe their right to reproductive healthcare, including accessing abortion, has been violated should immediately file a complaint at ‪https://oag.ca.gov/report.‬‬‬‬‬

 

Your Reproductive Rights

California has strong laws in place protecting reproductive freedom, including the right to safe and legal abortion. In California:

  • You have the right to an abortion. You do not need to provide a reason for why you are seeking an abortion.
  • You have the right to confidentiality. If you are married, generally your spouse will not be notified about your abortion.
  • You have the right to obtain an abortion without parental consent. If you are a minor, generally your parents or guardians will not be notified about your abortion.
  • You have the right to have your prescription for medicine to bring about an abortion filled in a timely manner.
  • You have the right to access abortion services for little-to-no charge. Abortion services should generally be covered by your health insurance.
  • You have the right to have an abortion performed by a trained professional. Only authorized healthcare providers, such as licensed doctors, nurses-midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, with proper training, can perform abortions.
  • You have the right to ask your healthcare provider if they have objections to certain forms of medical care. Healthcare providers are allowed to refuse to perform abortions for moral, ethical, or religious reasons.

If you are a California resident, you have options for free or low-cost birth control, regardless of immigration status. Your rights to free or low-cost birth control have not changed since the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Your Rights to Birth Control

  • You have the right to choose to have or not to have a child. You have the right to choose or refuse birth control.
  • If you have health insurance through an employer, most plans cover the following services. If you have Covered California, all plans cover the following services.
    • Up to a 12-month supply of FDA-approved birth control, including the ring, patch, or oral birth control pills, dispensed at one time, for free.
  • If you do not have health insurance, or if you do not use your insurance, you still can obtain, for cost, self-administered hormonal birth control from a pharmacist, without a prescription. To locate a participating pharmacist in your area visit birthcontrolpharmacies.com.

You May Be Entitled to Free Birth Control if You are on Medi-Cal or Have Low-Income

  • If you are on Medi-Cal, you can receive free birth control through your plan, through any Medi-Cal provider.
  • If you are an individual or household with low income, but do not qualify for Medi-Cal, you may be eligible for free birth control through the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment Plan (Family PACT) program.

If You Are Under 18, You Can Obtain Birth Control Without Parental Consent

  • Health care providers cannot inform your parent or legal guardian that you receive birth control, unless you agree to share that information. California law requires schools to excuse students during the school day for reproductive and sexual health services, and the school cannot inform your parent or guardian.

A copy of the consumer alert is available here.

While crisis pregnancy centers may advertise a full range of reproductive health services, they do not provide abortion or abortion referrals, and usually do not provide birth control or other forms of contraceptives. Californians who are pregnant or believe they may be pregnant should know that:

  • Crisis pregnancy centers do not provide abortion or abortion referral, and often times do not provide birth control or other forms of contraceptives;
  • Crisis pregnancy centers may not be licensed medical clinics or be required to keep medical records private;
  • Crisis pregnancy centers may attempt to delay appointments or provide misinformation about the legality or safety of abortions;
  • Crisis pregnancy centers may provide inaccurate health information about a person’s pregnancy and other aspects of reproductive healthcare; and
  • Crisis pregnancy centers often look like and are located near reproductive healthcare facilities that provide abortion.

More information on crisis pregnancy centers is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (Traditional), Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Hindi/Punjabi.

Californians who have been the victim or target of deceptive, misleading, unfair, or unlawful conduct should immediately file a complaint at https://oag.ca.gov/crisis-pregnancy-center-complaint.

 

Tools and Resources

If you are looking for information on or assistance with abortion care, there are a number of trusted programs that can help you in your search, including:

  • California Abortion Access, which is a safe space to access detailed guidance and resources on abortions. California protects the privacy of those who visit this website, and their information is not saved or tracked.
  • ACCESS Reproductive Justice, which connects people to free and low-cost programs that pay for reproductive healthcare for people living in, traveling to, or traveling from California to receive an out-of-state abortion.
  • Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, which provides direct and logistical support, transportation assistance, abortion appointment navigation, and other resources.
  • The National Abortion Federation, which maintains a list of abortion providers.
  • The Attorney General’s consumer alert on reproductive data privacy has tips and guidelines on protecting your sensitive data and information while seeking reproductive or abortion care.
  • Abortion Finder, which features a comprehensive directory of verified abortion service providers in the United States, as well as other resources.

 

DOJ Actions

The California Department of Justice remains committed to supporting, expanding, and defending access to reproductive care for all.

Below are actions taken by the Attorney General to bolster reproductive freedom.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Abortion

If you are on your spouse’s insurance, your spouse may receive an insurance notification about approval for services.

Healthcare providers cannot inform your parents or guardians that you received an abortion without your signed, written consent. However, they must notify your parents if you are under 12 and report sexual assault or rape.

Medi-Cal provides abortion coverage free of charge. Most state-regulated private health plans and insurance companies must cover abortion services as part of your health insurance benefits. However, self-funded employer health benefits are not required to provide abortion coverage, though many do. If you are unsure whether your health plan provides abortion coverage, review your health plan’s coverage documents.

Starting in 2023, state-regulated private health plans and insurance companies cannot require co-pays, deductibles or similar charges for abortion-related services.

You are entitled to review coverage documents provided by your health insurance plan. These documents may be called an Evidence of Coverage or Summary of Benefits and Coverage, and should tell you whether the plan will cover your abortion. If you do not have your plan documents, call your plan and ask for a copy. You do not need to provide a reason to request a copy.

If you believe that you were unlawfully charged for abortion services or you were denied any of the aforementioned rights, please immediately file a complaint at https://oag.ca.gov/report

Birth Control

If you have health insurance through Covered California or Medi-Cal, you’re covered! You have the right to get any FDA-approved method of birth control, without any cost to you. That means you cannot be charged any co-pays or cost sharing.

If you have health insurance through your employer/spouse/parent, your options depend on the kind of health plan. You will need to contact your plan to find out. If your plan does not cover birth control without cost-sharing or co-pays, California’s Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment Plan (Family PACT) may be an option for you. Please visit the FamilyPACT.org website to see if you are eligible.

The FDA has approved several different methods of birth control. You can choose the method that is right for you. Approved methods include: intrauterine devices (IUDs), implantable rods, contraceptive injection, combination oral contraceptives, progestin-only oral contraceptives, patch, vaginal contraceptive ring, diaphragm, sponge, cervical cap, emergency contraception, and sterilization.

You can contact the Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit to file a complaint. Consumer Complaint Against A Business/Company

Starting in 2023, state-regulated private health plans and insurance companies cannot require co-pays, deductibles or similar charges for abortion-related services.

There are also programs available to assist you with obtaining birth control:

  • The Title X Family Planning Clinic Locator provides information about clinics that offer a broad range of family planning and preventative health services.
  • TeenSource.org features accurate and reliable information about STDs, birth control, healthy relationships, and teen rights to accessing sensitive services in California.

  • If you have health insurance through an employer, most plans cover the following services. If you have Covered California, all plans cover the following services.
    • Free STI prevention counseling and at-home STI test kits
    • Free HIV and other STI screening, if you are age 18-65, at increased risk, or pregnant
    • Free pre-exposure, prophylaxis (PrEP) HIV prevention medication, if you are at high risk for getting HIV through sex or injection drug use
  • If you are on Medi-Cal, you have access to any of the above services.
  • If you are over 12 years old, you can obtain STI testing and treatment without parental consent.