California Law Will Let Providers Mail Abortion Pills Anonymously

The bill bolsters shield laws, protecting health care providers from prosecution by anti-abortion attorneys general.

By Danielle Han | September 11, 2025 | 5:54pm

Photo: iStockphoto Abortion Politics

California Law Will Let Providers Mail Abortion Pills Anonymously

On Wednesday, California’s State Assembly passed AB 260 (a swift development, considering the Senate approved it the day before), a bill that would allow the state’s healthcare workers to redact details from abortion pill prescriptions, including the prescriber’s name, the patient’s name, and the pharmacist’s name. It now sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, who is sure to sign it into law.

The move comes amid a pile of anti-abortion battles being waged against blue states, including an ongoing lawsuit against a California-based doctor for mailing abortion pills to a patient in Texas (which has a near-total abortion ban), as well as another ongoing lawsuit against a New York-based doctor, filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, for (you guessed it!) mailing abortion pills to a different patient in Texas. (And also Louisiana.) Earlier this week, New York AG Letitia James announced she was intervening in Paxton’s lawsuit challenging the state’s shield laws, in a case that could very well make its way to the Supreme Court.

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With shield laws, states like California—just one of nine states where abortion is still allowed—can circumvent abortion bans in other states, protecting healthcare providers from being fined, prosecuted, or de-licensed for treating patients across state lines. As such, shield laws have been under fire by the country’s creepy collection of anti-abortion attorneys general. In July, 15 GOP AGs signed an open letter, pleading with Congress to take down the entire system.

An estimated 1.14 million abortions were performed in the U.S. in 2024, about a quarter of which were done through telehealth. Shield laws have helped expand access to the procedure, and roughly 12,000 abortions per month take place thanks to their protections. And California is an essential supplier of the medication. “We’re really the main hub for mailing abortion pills,” Cofounder of Honeybee Health Jessica Nouhavandi told NPR. “Almost everything comes out of California, and mainly from Honeybee.” The New York Times noted that most abortion pill services in the U.S. use California-based pharmacies.

As things stand, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Washington have passed similar laws that allow doctors to prescribe abortion pills anonymously, and Pennsylvania is also considering similar legislation.

“This bill doesn’t just protect providers legally—it’s a statement that we’re not alone,” Nouhavandi added. “And that matters, because access to care only exists if there are people still willing to provide it.”

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