California governor vetoes abortion bill for university campuses

FILE: Gov. Jerry Brown speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Sacramento, Calif.  (AP)

California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill on Sunday that would have mandated California public universities to provide abortion pills, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

SB320, introduced by Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, would have required university health centers to offer women medical abortions on campus by Jan. 1, 2022. The majority of the funds-- $9.6 million-- would come from private donors, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The bill also required a $200,000 grant to the University of California and California State University systems to provide 24-hour phone service to abortion medication recipients, according to the report.

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In his veto message, Gov. Brown called the bill “unnecessary,” noting that abortions are a “long-protected right in California.” He said most abortion providers are within a reasonable distance from campus communities.

After the governor’s veto, Leyva said she will introduce the bill next session.

[L]egislation such as this is urgently needed to make sure that Californians are able to access the full range of reproductive care regardless of where they may live.

— California state Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino

“As the Trump Administration continues to unravel many of the critical health care protections and services for women, legislation such as this is urgently needed to make sure that Californians are able to access the full range of reproductive care regardless of where they may live,” Leyva said in a statement.

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The bill was drafted after a failed effort in 2016 by students at UC Berkeley to provide medical abortions on campus, according to The Chronicle. Medical abortions differ from surgical abortions in that the former requires taking a pill over two days during the first 10 weeks of a pregnancy to trigger a miscarriage.