California’s ‘abortion sanctuary’ status is causing abortions to skyrocket

California abortion numbers for the first 10 months of 2023 are estimated to have surpassed the total numbers of abortions reported for the state in all of 2020. The reason is likely the radical effort by state lawmakers to expand abortion and turn the state into an abortion sanctuary, funded by state taxpayers.

Estimates comparing 2020 to 2023 indicate sharp increase in CA and NY abortions

The latest abortion data is from Planned Parenthood’s former research arm and “special affiliate,” the Guttmacher Institute, which has published national state abortion data for 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not publish abortion numbers for California; there are no national abortion reporting requirements.

Live Action News previously reported that, in 2020, just two states — California (154,060) and New York (110,360) — collectively committed well over 264,000 abortions — or nearly 30% of all abortions reported in the United States. California committed the highest number reported among all states and the District of Columbia (D.C.), with New York coming in a close second, according to Guttmacher.

And shockingly, 2020 abortion totals from just five states made up nearly half of all abortions reported in the entire nation.

Estimated monthly abortion numbers published by Guttmacher indicate that anywhere from 160,000 to 173,000 abortions are estimated to have been committed just between the months of January 2023 and October 2023 (a 10-month span); again, these are not precise counts, but estimates. The estimates also indicate that anywhere from 115,000 to 142,000 abortions were committed in the state of New York within this same time.

What an ‘abortion sanctuary’ looks like

In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed the state would be a sanctuary for abortion — a reason some believe the abortion numbers are climbing in the state. The actions taken by the Newsom administration to expand abortion have been blatant and extreme:

• Newsom started the California Future of Abortion Council, which has published a playbook and report for expanding abortion.

• Newsom erected billboards in pro-life states promoting abortion in California.

• Newsom budgeted $20 million toward increased security for abortion facilities… while starting a “reproductive task force” dedicated to prosecuting pro-lifers for supposed “intimidation” or “harassment.”

• Newsom oversaw the creation of a new abortion website, which specifically targeted minors with a section telling out-of-state minors how to get an abortion in California without their parents’ permission, and additionally, telling undocumented immigrants how they can get taxpayer-funded abortions.

California has since passed numerous abortion expansion efforts as well as shield laws, and has funding mechanisms in place to expand abortion.

According to a previous report from Live Action News, one bill ensured that a minor could get an abortion, using their parents’ insurance plan, without needing approval from the insurance policy holder or subscriber — their parents — first. It also prevents information about the abortion from being shared.

“[E]fforts by advocates in California, including Access Reproductive Justice, helped to mobilize $200 million in state funding for abortion — a historic investment for those otherwise unable to afford care. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon also carved out state funds to help people pay for abortion services,” wrote Guttmacher executives recently.

Last year, the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) announced a partnership with Essential Access Health (EAH) to help distribute $60 million in grants to expand access to abortions, abortion-related services, and general reproductive health care.

As previously detailed by Live Action News, EAH states online that it is not only a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California Future of Abortion Council, but also a “lead trainer and convener of campus health center partners and stakeholders” to support implementation of the state’s SB24 legislation which forced California colleges to provide abortion access on campus.

“The Uncompensated Care Fund will provide $40 million in grants to health care providers who deliver abortion and abortion-related care to individuals with an income below 400 percent of the federal poverty level and who do not have coverage for such services,” the release stated.

The release added:

HCAI is also currently accepting applications for $20 million in grants under the Clinical Infrastructure Fund to increase the amount and types of health care providers offering reproductive health care, and it is coordinating with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) on the Physical and Digital Infrastructure Security Grant Program. 

The Infrastructure Security program offers $19 million in new grants for physical and data security at facilities providing abortion-related care and reproductive health services. The grants will fund physical and digital security enhancements at health care facilities and practitioner offices throughout the state that may be the target of violence and vandalism. Learn more about the program on the Cal OES website.

The state is hostile to efforts to assist women who change their minds about abortion, recently filing a fraudulent and misleading claims lawsuit against Heartbeat International (HBI) and RealOptions Obria to halt the facilities from offering “abortion pill reversal” (APR), which is essentially the administration of progesterone in an attempt to counteract or out-compete the effects of the mifepristone abortion pill. The abortion industry has long been aware that progesterone can interfere with the effectiveness of mifepristone.

Between 2014 and 2020, California taxpayers funded approximately 411,000 abortions, costing nearly $118 million, according to data from the State’s Medi-Cal website. But between 1989 to 2020, the state’s taxpayer-funded abortions had reached nearly one billion dollars ($785,421,873).

Those numbers are now expected to skyrocket.

The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.