Gov. Newsom Vetoes Pro-Choice Bills in Win for Pro-life Movement

Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two pro-choice pieces of legislation. 

Sacramento, CA: Late last week, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 2670 and 2490. Though they passed through the legislature with overwhelming support, these bills were always facing the financial reality of having no allocated funding from the budget.  

By way of reminder, AB 2670, would have used public funding to unnecessarily create a campaign dedicated to raising awareness of www.abortion.ca.gov, California’s abortion resource hub. During the hearing for this bill, the advocates testified that the rationale behind needing this kind of campaign was primarily because of crisis pregnancy centers, or what they call “fake clinics” outnumbering abortion facilities by 20% in the state.   

AB 2049 sought to create what the bill’s author has deemed the Reproductive Health Emergency Preparedness Program. This would have been a new grant program to expand access to abortion in emergency departments across California.  

On their way through the legislature, the Department of Finance was opposed to both bills because of the cost pressures they would put on the general fund. They reminded the legislators that there have been hundreds of millions of dollars spent on prioritizing and protecting reproductive healthcare in the last few years.   

Furthermore, the Department of Finance noted specifically for AB 2670, a bill which seeks to create an abortion awareness campaign, and that Department of Health estimated these costs to be $1.6-1.8 million in the fiscal year 2025-26, $2.4-3.5 million in fiscal year 2026-27, and $2.4-3.7 million for all ongoing years to oversee the campaign.   

In his official veto, Governor Newsom echoed similar sentiments. For AB 2670, the governor stated that while he does “strongly support increasing the availability of and promoting access to safe and affordable reproductive health care in California,” the bills’ campaign is “well-intentioned but unfunded.”  

It is important to take note that even though AB 2670 did not become law, the governor pointed out that “legislation would not be required for [the California Department of Public Health] to do this work.” This suggests that even though this legislation not passing represents a positive turn, there are other means to remain vigilant in protecting against the spreading of abortion.ca.gov, especially through taxpayer funding.  

With regard to AB 2490, Governor Newsom wrote that he has already appropriated $120 million to the Department of Health Care Access and Information to “establish five programs designed to expand abortion-related care and reproductive health services across the State, including the Reproductive Health Service Corps.”  

He wrote of both bills that his job this year has been to enact a balanced budget that require him to “remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications that are not included in the budget.”  

While the vetoing of these pieces of legislation is by happenstance in support of the pro-life movement, they do not represent an ideological or cultural win. The governor’s lack of additional spending does not mean the desires of these bills are not being enacted.  

Whether within departments or through local programs, these bills may still influence the state. It is important that every pro-life advocate be grateful for these small legislative wins while remaining vigilant for the fight for life on the ground.