The California State Assembly voted to pass legislation to make it mandatory for the state’s public universities to offer abortion pills at on-campus student health centers, The Hill reported over the weekend.
The move came several months after the state Senate voted to approve the measure in May.
The legislation now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has one month to decide if he will sign it into law, according to Fox News. The measure would take effect in January 2023.
The bill’s author, state Sen. Connie Leyva , said the legislation would prevent students from having to “choose between delaying important medical care or having to travel long distances or miss classes or work.”
Leyva said in a statement that “In a time when states across our country are rolling back women’s health care and access to abortion, California continues to lead the nation to protect every individual’s right to choose,” adding that the bill “reaffirms the right of every college student to access abortion.”
Thirty-four college campuses in California would be affected by the legislation, The New York Times reported.
Last year a similar bill in California was rejected by then-Gov. Jerry Brown. But Newsom, who was then the lieutenant governor, said that he would have approved the measure.
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