On Monday, California State Senator Connie Levya re-introduced a bill that would require all California public university campuses, including UC Santa Barbara, to provide access to medication abortion services to students by January 1, 2023.

SB 24 will be considered in Senate policy committees later this spring. Dustin Harris / Daily Nexus

Leyva originally introduced a similar bill, Senate Bill 320, in Feb. 2017. SB 320 would have required all University of California and California State University campuses to offer medication abortion services by Jan. 1, 2022.

However, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 320 on Sept. 30.

This new bill, Senate Bill 24 – colloquially known as the “College Student Right to Access Act” – would require public universities with on-campus student health centers to provide medication abortion to students who seek to terminate their pregnancy during the first 10 weeks.

“It is critically important that we reaffirm the constitutional right of college students to access abortion care without delay, and that should always include student health centers on public university campuses,” Levya said in a press release sent out on Dec. 3.

“Regardless of where they may live, Californians should have access to the full range and choices of reproductive care services so that they can plan their futures and accomplish their goals.”

Research shows medication abortion has a success rate of over 95 percent, according to the press release. Serious adverse events occur in only 0.3 percent of instances.

The Nexus previously reported that the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), a non-partisan council, released a report on March 16 confirming the Mifeprex pill, a hormonal pill used for medical abortions, is safe and effective.

SB 24 is sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California, ACLU California and Students United for Reproductive Justice at UC Berkeley, among others, according to the press release.

“I am confident that the incoming Legislature will also approve SB 24 and that Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom will continue to stand strong in his support for a woman’s right to choose,” Levya said.

SB 24 will be “considered in Senate policy committee(s) later this spring,” according to the press release.

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Simren Verma
Simren Verma currently serves as the University News Editor. She also enjoys school and the presence of her news team.