If you have a miscarriage in California, state law protects you on four fronts: you cannot be prosecuted or sued for the pregnancy outcome, hospitals must treat you in an emergency, your medical records stay private, and your job is protected while you recover. California miscarriage laws are among the strongest in the country, and they cover both patients and the people who help them.
You Cannot Be Prosecuted for a Pregnancy Loss
This is the protection that matters most, and California wrote it directly into the Health and Safety Code. Section 123467, added by AB-2223 in 2022, prohibits anyone from facing civil or criminal liability “based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death due to causes that occurred in utero.”1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 123467
The shield reaches beyond the patient. Anyone who helps a pregnant person exercise their rights under the Reproductive Privacy Act, acting with that person’s voluntary consent, is also immune. That includes doctors, nurses, midwives, partners, family, and friends.1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 123467
The Reproductive Privacy Act itself lists miscarriage management by name as a protected personal reproductive decision, alongside prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion, and infertility care.2California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 123462 There is no ambiguity about whether pregnancy loss falls within the state’s reproductive privacy protections. It does.
The Coroner Loophole Was Closed
Before AB-2223, coroners had duties to investigate certain pregnancy losses, and some providers reported patients to law enforcement based on those requirements. The Legislature was direct about what had happened: despite existing law, “police have investigated and prosecutors have charged people with homicide for pregnancy losses” in California.3California Legislative Information. AB-2223 Reproductive Health
AB-2223 repealed Health and Safety Code Section 103000, which had triggered some of those investigations, and amended Section 103005 so that a coroner’s statements on a fetal death certificate cannot be used to support any criminal prosecution or civil lawsuit against a person who is immune under Section 123467.3California Legislative Information. AB-2223 Reproductive Health The legal mechanisms that had driven earlier prosecutions were dismantled.
Hospitals Must Treat You in a Miscarriage Emergency
If you arrive at an emergency room bleeding heavily, in pain, or with symptoms of an incomplete or septic miscarriage, federal law requires the hospital to treat you. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) applies to every hospital with an emergency department. The hospital must screen you and, if an emergency medical condition is present, provide stabilizing care within its capabilities or arrange an appropriate transfer, regardless of your insurance or ability to pay.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1395dd – Examination and Treatment for Emergency Medical Conditions and Women in Labor
EMTALA’s definition of an emergency medical condition covers situations where the absence of immediate care could place the health of a pregnant patient or her unborn child “in serious jeopardy,” cause “serious impairment to bodily functions,” or result in “serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.”4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1395dd – Examination and Treatment for Emergency Medical Conditions and Women in Labor Heavy bleeding, infection, and incomplete miscarriage fit within that definition. CMS has confirmed that EMTALA protects pregnant patients presenting with obstetric emergencies, including miscarriage, and that hospitals must provide stabilizing care within their capabilities.5Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS Statement on Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) A hospital that turns you away or delays care in that situation is violating federal law.
Your Medical Records Stay Private
California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) is stricter than the federal baseline. Under Civil Code Section 56.10, health care providers, health plans, and their contractors cannot disclose your medical information without written authorization, with limited exceptions. When law enforcement from another state presents a search warrant, the CMIA blocks compliance if honoring that warrant would violate California law, including the Reproductive Privacy Act.6California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 56.10 – Disclosure of Medical Information That is meaningful if you live in California but travel, or if someone in a state with abortion or pregnancy-loss criminal statutes tries to reach your records.
Federal protection is weaker than it was supposed to be. In 2024, HHS amended the HIPAA Privacy Rule to add specific protections for reproductive health information. A federal court in Texas struck down nearly all of those amendments in Purl v. HHS, ruling that HHS exceeded its authority, and the ruling applies nationwide. The original HIPAA Privacy Rule still applies, but it does not include the pregnancy-specific safeguards the 2024 amendments would have added. For California residents, the CMIA fills much of that gap. If you receive care across state lines, the federal floor is what protects you there, and it is lower than California’s.
Time Off Work After a Miscarriage
California stacks several leave laws, and a miscarriage can trigger more than one at the same time.
Pregnancy Disability Leave
Under Government Code Section 12945, an employer cannot refuse to let an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition take leave for a reasonable period, up to four months. During that leave, the employer must continue paying for the employee’s group health plan coverage. PDL also requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions when a health care provider advises them.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12945 A miscarriage qualifies as a related medical condition, so PDL covers time needed for physical recovery, follow-up procedures, and complications.
Reproductive Loss Leave
California also created a specific reproductive loss leave that is separate from and in addition to PDL, CFRA, and FMLA. You can take it after experiencing a miscarriage while employed. If you happen to already be on another type of leave when the loss occurs, you can take reproductive loss leave within three months of finishing the other leave.8California Civil Rights Department. Leave From Work After a Reproductive Loss
Federal Leave and Accommodation
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition, defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or condition involving inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2611 – Definitions The statute’s legislative history lists miscarriage as an example of a serious health condition.10U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA-85 Opinion Letter FMLA eligibility requires an employer with at least 50 employees within 75 miles, 12 months of service, and 1,250 hours worked in the past year.
Separately, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000gg-1 – Nondiscrimination With Regard to Reasonable Accommodations Related to Pregnancy The EEOC’s final regulation explicitly lists miscarriage and stillbirth as covered conditions.12U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC Issues Final Regulation on Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Accommodations can include time off for medical appointments, modified schedules, temporary light duty, or remote work. Your employer must engage in an interactive process and can refuse only for genuine undue hardship.
Medical Expenses May Be Deductible
Miscarriage-related costs, including hospital visits, procedures, lab work, prescriptions, and follow-up appointments, qualify as deductible medical expenses on your federal tax return. You can deduct the portion of your total unreimbursed medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.13Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 – Medical and Dental Expenses Emergency treatment or surgery can push spending above that floor quickly.
Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account funds can also be used for miscarriage-related medical expenses. Hospital fees, prescription medications, and provider visits are generally eligible. Keep itemized receipts, since the IRS may ask for documentation.