SACRAMENTO, Calif. (MCT) — A California state senator is proposing to significantly expand access to abortion in the state by allowing licensed nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurse midwives to perform nonsurgical versions of the procedure in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Democratic state Sen. Christine Kehoe late last week introduced SB1501, which would allow medical professionals who are not doctors to perform aspiration abortions, which is the procedure most often used to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester.
Kehoe said she introduced the bill because half of California’s counties do not have an abortion provider.
The proposal is co-sponsored by the leaders of each house of the Legislature, a sign that it has significant support in the Democrat-dominated body.
“We believe it will give many California women access to earlier, safer procedures in the first trimester of their pregnancy,” Kehoe said at a news conference in Sacramento on Tuesday.
Camille Giglio, a lobbyist for California Right-to-Life, said the proposal flies in the face of pro-choice advocates’ claims that abortion is a careful, medical procedure.
“When do they let the janitor do it?” Giglio said in an interview. “They’re totally casting aside the safety of the woman.”
