The state Senate Health Committee passed Senate Bill 24 (SB 24) known as the “College Student Right to Access Act” on Wednesday, April 3. The bill was sponsored by State Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, and requires all 31 California public universities to offer the abortion pill at their on-campus health centers.
The bill was passed in a 7-2 vote and seven Democrats voted for the bill, while two Republicans opposed it.
“SB 24 is an important step toward ensuring that the right to abortion is available to all Californians, and that our college students don’t face unnecessary barriers,” Leyva stated in a press release on April 3.
The bill will now move forward to the Senate Education Committee for consideration. The hearing date has not yet been set.
If Senate Bill 24 is approved and implemented, it would require campus health centers to offer the abortion pill by Jan. 1, 2023.
It would also establish California as the first state to guarantee access to on-campus medicated abortions at all of its public universities for students who seek to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
A previous version of this bill was originally introduced in 2017, but later vetoed in September 2018 by former Gov. Jerry Brown.
Brown wrote in his veto message that the bill was “not necessary,” since students can receive the abortion pill from clinics off-campus.
In the press release, Leyva explained the importance of giving students access to the pill at their campus health centers, as opposed to having to go obtain the medicated abortion at an off-campus clinic.
“Students should not have to travel off-campus or miss class or work responsibilities in order to receive care that can easily be provided at a student health center,” Leyva wrote.
“This important legislation will help to improve the academic success of students and empower them to make decisions supportive of their own personal and professional futures.”
The Poly Post reached out to Cal Poly Pomona’s Student Health and Wellness Services but no one had a comment on SB 24.