Abortion in California is legal up to fetal viability, and it remains available after viability when a physician determines the procedure is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health. The state imposes no waiting period, no mandatory counseling script, and no parental consent requirement for minors. Most insured Californians pay nothing out of pocket, and Medi-Cal covers the full cost for eligible patients regardless of how far along the pregnancy is.
The right is written into the California Constitution through Proposition 1, which voters approved in November 2022, and is separately codified in the Reproductive Privacy Act.1Legislative Analyst’s Office. Proposition 1 – Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom2California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 123462 – Reproductive Privacy Act
How Late You Can Get an Abortion
California law permits abortion up to fetal viability. The Reproductive Privacy Act defines viability as the point where, in the treating physician’s good-faith medical judgment, the fetus has a reasonable likelihood of sustained survival outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures.3California Board of Registered Nursing. Reproductive Privacy Act That call is made case by case, though viability generally falls around 24 weeks of gestation.
After viability, abortion is still permitted when the provider determines it is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.4California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 123466 – Reproductive Privacy Act No panel review or second opinion is required. The decision belongs to the treating provider and the patient.
Medication and In-Clinic Options
You have two main paths depending on how far along you are.
Medication abortion uses mifepristone followed by misoprostol and is FDA-approved for pregnancies up to 10 weeks. Under the FDA’s risk management program, mifepristone must be prescribed by a certified prescriber and dispensed by a certified pharmacy, but since January 2023 certified retail pharmacies can fill the prescription and the pills can be mailed to you.5U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Letter from Chairman Cassidy et al to Commissioner Makary re Mifepristone California supports telehealth appointments in full, so a video or phone visit can replace a clinic trip if you’re within the 10-week window. Cash prices for medication abortion typically run up to $800, with many clinics averaging around $580.
Procedural abortion is available throughout pregnancy up to viability. First-trimester procedures are done by aspiration in a single visit. Later procedures may use dilation and evacuation and can require more than one appointment. Without insurance, first-trimester procedural abortions generally cost between $450 and $800.
Who Can Perform an Abortion
California has expanded the list of qualified providers well beyond physicians. Nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physician assistants are all authorized to perform aspiration abortions and prescribe medication abortion once they have completed the required clinical competency training.6California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 3502.4 That matters most in rural counties where physician availability is thin.
What It Costs and Who Pays
Under Senate Bill 245, the Abortion Accessibility Act, most private health plans regulated by California cannot charge you a deductible, copay, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing for abortion or related services, including the pre-procedure visit and follow-up care.7California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 245 – Health Care Coverage Abortion Services Cost Sharing For most insured Californians, that means zero out of pocket.
One exception matters. If you’re on a high-deductible health plan paired with a health savings account, the no-cost rule only applies after you’ve met your annual deductible for the benefit year.7California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 245 – Health Care Coverage Abortion Services Cost Sharing Until then, you could see charges.
Medi-Cal covers abortion at any gestational age with no prior authorization and no cost to the patient.8California Department of Health Care Services. Part 2 – Abortions and Directly Related Medical Services and Supplies If you’re not currently enrolled but have a low income and are pregnant, Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant People (PE4PP) can give you immediate temporary coverage that includes abortion and miscarriage care.9California Department of Health Care Services. What Is Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant People
If you’re uninsured and don’t qualify for Medi-Cal, nonprofit abortion funds can help. ACCESS Reproductive Justice, listed on the California Attorney General’s site, connects patients with programs that cover the procedure, travel, lodging, and childcare.10State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Reproductive Rights The National Abortion Federation Hotline and the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP) also make grants to patients who can’t afford care.
Finding a Provider
The state runs an official directory at abortion.ca.gov with a search tool that lists verified clinics, hospitals, and medical groups by location.11California Department of Public Health. California Abortion Access It was built to serve both residents and out-of-state patients.12Office of the Governor of California. California Launches Abortion.ca.gov National directories such as AbortionFinder.org also list California providers along with each location’s gestational limits and services.
Care is offered in reproductive health clinics (including Planned Parenthood), general hospitals, and private physician offices. For telehealth medication abortion, you may never need to visit a clinic at all.
Privacy of Your Care
California’s constitutional right to privacy, which predates federal HIPAA, has been read by the state Supreme Court to cover reproductive decisions. Providers cannot disclose your abortion care without explicit consent.
On the federal side, a 2024 HIPAA rule that added reproductive-health-specific protections was vacated by a federal court in June 2025 and is no longer in effect. General HIPAA still applies to all health information, and California’s own state-level privacy laws remain fully intact.
Assembly Bill 1242, enacted as an urgency statute in September 2022, blocks California law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state agencies investigating a lawful abortion performed in California.13California Legislative Information. AB 1242 – Reproductive Rights It also bars California courts from issuing related search warrants and stops California-based tech companies from turning over digital records to out-of-state law enforcement enforcing another state’s abortion ban.14State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and Attorney General Bonta Legislation Protecting Digital Information on Abortion Heads to the Governor
If you’re on someone else’s insurance plan and want to keep your care off shared statements, submit a confidential communications request to the insurer. California law requires plans to honor these requests, which stop the insurer from disclosing information about sensitive services to the primary subscriber or other enrollees. That is often the key protection for minors on a parent’s plan and adults on a spouse’s plan.
Rights for Minors
Minors in California can consent to their own abortion care. No parental notification or approval is required.10State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Reproductive Rights A 16-year-old can walk into a clinic, consent to a medication or procedural abortion, and have the visit kept confidential. Paired with the confidential communications rule, a minor on a parent’s insurance plan can receive care without it showing up on the family’s explanation of benefits. Minors who can’t safely use a parent’s plan can turn to Medi-Cal or the abortion funds listed above.
If You’re Traveling from Another State
California welcomes out-of-state patients, and the protections in the Reproductive Privacy Act and Proposition 1 apply to anyone receiving care in California, not just residents.2California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 123462 – Reproductive Privacy Act The Attorney General has issued formal guidance directing district attorneys, police chiefs, and sheriffs not to cooperate with out-of-state demands that seek to criminalize reproductive care obtained in California.10State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Reproductive Rights
Abortion.ca.gov has a section aimed at out-of-state patients covering how to find a provider and how to pay. ACCESS Reproductive Justice helps with travel logistics and costs for patients coming from other states.
Time Off Work
Federal Family and Medical Leave Act coverage includes any incapacity due to pregnancy, which covers obtaining and recovering from an abortion. If your employer has 50 or more employees and you’ve worked there at least 12 months, you’re entitled to unpaid, job-protected leave for recovery.15U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
California separately requires employers to provide at least 40 hours (five days) of paid sick leave per year, which you can use for any medical care, including abortion appointments and recovery.16California Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions You don’t have to explain why you’re using it.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, effective June 2023, requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. An employer cannot force you to take leave if another accommodation would let you keep working, and retaliation for requesting an accommodation is illegal.15U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Title VII of the Civil Rights Act separately bars treating workers differently because of pregnancy-related conditions, which courts have read to include abortion.