Health Care & Reproductive Rights

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that California, leading a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia, has submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Zubik, et al. v. Burwell et al., urging the Court to protect women’s access to contraceptive coverage under the federal government’s Affordable Care Act (ACA).  The brief, written by California, was joined by Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

“A woman’s right to access contraception should not hinge on the religious beliefs of her employer,” said Attorney General Harris.  “The right to healthcare services is justly protected under federal law, and  the Supreme Court should uphold the ACA’s common-sense accommodation for religious organizations and protect women’s access to essential healthcare.”

The ACA provides an accommodation for religious nonprofit organizations that object to its requirement that employer-provided health insurance plans contain coverage for preventative healthcare, including contraception.  Through this accommodation, these organizations can simply opt out of providing contraceptive coverage to their employees by informing their insurance company or the federal government of their objection to this coverage.  If an organization does opt out, the insurer will then provide contraceptive coverage directly to employees at the insurance companies own expense.  In the Zubik case, several nonprofit religious organizations filed suit against Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that this opt-out accommodation violates their religious beliefs.

Attorney General Harris and the 17 other attorneys general argue in the brief that the Court should not interpret the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in a way that defeats and interferes with the essential and compelling purposes of the ACA and its preventative contraceptive healthcare coverage requirements.  As the brief notes, access to contraceptives is not only essential for public health, but is consistent with the intent of Congress in passing the ACA to ensure that all covered employees have access to no-cost preventive care, free of logistical and administrative barriers. 

The brief argues that the ACA’s opt-out accommodation does not create a substantial burden and therefore does not interfere with or violate the rights of these organizations under RFRA.  The brief also argues that the alternatives to this common-sense accommodation proposed by the religious employers would impose significant financial, logistical, informational, and administrative burdens on women seeking access to contraception.  These burdens would fall hardest on women with the fewest informational and financial resources to overcome them.

The brief urges the Court to interpret RFRA in a manner that would not interfere with States’ goals and prerogatives to protect public health and promote gender equity.

In January 2014, Attorney General Harris authored a multi-state friend-of-the-court brief in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., urging the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling allowing for-profit companies to deny essential healthcare to female employees based on the religious beliefs of the company’s owners.

In 2015, Attorney General Harris co-sponsored AB 775, the Reproductive FACT Act, to ensure women have equal access to comprehensive reproductive health care and are able to make informed choices about their health.  The bill was signed into law by Governor Brown and went into effect on January 1, 2016.  The Attorney General’s office is vigorously defending the law in federal and state court. 

In January 2106, Attorney General Harris joined 13 other states and the District of Columbia in signing a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision substantially restricting access to abortion services in Texas. 

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala Harris today convened local, state and federal law enforcement leaders and Planned Parenthood clinic directors to discuss the recent uptick in threats and violence against reproductive health clinics and ways to increase coordination to better protect patients and health care workers.  The event consisted of a briefing for law enforcement officials on the current threats and a discussion of best practices to prevent and respond to them.

“The increase in threats and violence against patients and health care providers at reproductive health clinics is a serious threat to women’s reproductive rights and public safety,” said Attorney General Harris. “Patients and health providers have the right to receive care and provide services in a safe environment. This convening will help us strengthen coordination and ensure the safety of patients, health providers and our communities.” 

From July through November 2014, Planned Parenthood California recorded 31 incidents of threats and violence. During the same time period in 2015, the reproductive health clinics recorded 179 such incidents. Incidents have included vandalism, suspicious packages, trespassing, harassment of security officers and alleged death threats against doctors.   

Today’s convening focused on improving coordination between agencies conducting investigations into incidents in their jurisdiction, identifying patterns of incidents, and sharing best practices for local law enforcement to work with clinics to ensure the safety of staff and patients.

Photos from today's event can be found below:

High-resolution copies of these images are attached to the online version of this news release at oag.ca.gov/news.

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that California has joined 13 other states and the District of Columbia in signing a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision substantially restricting access to abortion services in Texas.

The brief, written by New York, and signed by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia, was filed on Monday.

“Every woman has the right to make informed choices about her health and well-being,” said Attorney General Harris. “I strongly urge the Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit ruling, which undermines both public health and a woman’s right to choose.”

Attorney General Harris and the 13 other attorneys general argued in the brief that the Fifth Circuit erred in its analysis of a Texas statute that requires all abortion clinics to comply with ambulatory surgical center standards and requires any physician performing an abortion to hold admitting privileges at a hospital within thirty miles of the location where the procedure is performed. 

The statute has resulted in the closure of half of Texas’s clinics, and further threatens the closure of all but 9 of the 40 clinics operating before the law was passed.   As a result, many women have been left without access to abortion services and other reproductive health care.

While the law was ostensibly passed to promote women’s health, Attorney General Harris and the other signatories of the brief argue that the legislation actually undermined, rather than promoted, women’s health.  The brief also argues that a state cannot restrict access to in-state abortion services simply because the same services are available in other states.

Attorney General Harris authored a multi-state friend-of-the-court brief in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. in January 2014, urging the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling allowing for-profit companies to deny essential healthcare to female employees based on the religious beliefs of the company’s owners.  In addition, in November 2013, Attorney General Harris joined a multi-state amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in McCullen v. Coakley, supporting a Massachusetts law creating a 35-foot buffer zone around reproductive health care facilities.

In 2015, Attorney General Harris co-sponsored AB 775, the Reproductive FACT Act, to ensure women have equal access to comprehensive reproductive health care and are able to make informed choices about their health.  The bill was signed into law by Governor Brown and went into effect on January 1, 2016.  Attorney General’s office is currently defending the law in federal and state court. 

Attorney General Harris also filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the First Resort, Inc. v. Herrera et al., in support of a San Francisco ordinance prohibiting limited service crisis pregnancy centers in that city from knowingly providing false or misleading information to women regarding their reproductive health.

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the California Department of Consumer Affairs today announced the universal launch of the new Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (“CURES 2.0”), a state-of-the-art overhaul of California’s prescription drug monitoring program that will allow health providers and pharmacists to more effectively flag at-risk patients and curb prescription drug abuse.

“This innovative prescription drug database ensures that California continues to lead the fight against our country’s prescription drug abuse epidemic,” said Attorney General Harris. “Through the use of new technology, CURES 2.0 will save lives and improve public health while also providing a vastly improved user experience for healthcare professionals, regulatory boards, and law enforcement.”

Starting January 8, 2016, current CURES users logging in with up-to-date and secure web browsers will be automatically redirected to the new 2.0 system.  In anticipation of the launch, Attorney General Harris also sent a letter to members of the medical community urging them to only use secure software to access confidential and sensitive patient information.

“CURES 2.0 will give California’s healthcare professionals who prescribe and dispense potent prescription drugs a powerful tool to better access and utilize patient information to help them identify individuals who are abusing these drugs,” said Awet Kidane, Director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. “It is a direct result of the hard work and collaboration between the Department of Justice, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the regulatory boards funding this project.”

The online CURES database enables healthcare providers to review a patient’s medication history before prescribing new drugs, storing prescription records for all controlled substances classified as Schedule II, III, and IV.  Over 5.5 million such requests have been processed so far in 2015 alone. 

In addition to providing users with faster and more reliable access to patient activity reports, the upgraded 2.0 system features cutting-edge analytics for flagging at-risk patients, allowing medical professionals to prescribe wisely and helping to prevent abuse or diversion of controlled medications such as opioids.

“CURES 2.0 is without a doubt the most effective tool for doctors and pharmacists to help curb prescription drug abuse.  Many lives will be saved in California,” said Bob Pack, a patient safety advocate.

By law, all health practitioners licensed to prescribe or dispense scheduled medications are required to sign up for CURES by July 1, 2016.  The launch of the new 2.0 system will also include the release of a new streamlined registration process, which will allow users to apply for access and verify their credentials entirely online using secure web browsers.

CURES 2.0 was implemented through Senate Bill 809, legislation authored by former California State Senator Mark DeSaulnier and sponsored by Attorney General Harris in 2013.

“The U.S. claims less than 5% of the world’s population, but consumes roughly 80% of the world’s opioid supply.  Each day, 44 people in the U.S. die from an overdose of prescription painkillers.  By launching CURES 2.0 and requiring all prescribers and pharmacists to enroll, California will be on the cutting edge of addressing this crisis.  I am proud to have authored this law in the memory of the countless sons and daughters who were lost to this epidemic.  I thank Attorney General Harris and Governor Brown for their years of work to ensure the modernization of CURES is a success,” said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11).

To learn more about CURES 2.0, visit https://oag.ca.gov/cures-pdmp.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today granted conditional approval of a transaction that will allow a change of control and governance of the Daughters of Charity Health System. The Attorney General’s approval includes strong conditions to ensure the continuity of essential healthcare services for vulnerable communities at the six health facilities and requires many essential health care services to remain in place for at least ten years.

“This approval includes strong conditions that will maintain the charitable purpose of the Daughters of Charity Health System, ensuring that low-income Californians will continue to have access to critical health care services, including emergency, trauma, surgical, and reproductive health services,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris.

The transaction includes the following six health facilities:

• St. Vincent Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA)
• St. Francis Medical Center (Lynwood, CA)
• O’Connor Hospital (San Jose, CA)
• Saint Louise Regional Hospital (Gilroy, CA)
• Seton Medical Center (Daly City, CA)
• Seton Coastside (Moss Beach, CA)

Under the system restructuring and support agreement, Integrity Healthcare, LLC and certain funds managed by BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC will execute a 15-year management agreement and will pay $100 million for the option to purchase the Daughters of Charity Health System.  These certain funds will also provide $150 million of guaranteed financing to support the health system’s financial and capital needs and help with the $180 million capital expenditures commitment. Under the terms of the agreement, the health system's name will be changed to Verity Health System of California, Inc. and its corporate status will be changed from a nonprofit religious corporation to a nonprofit public benefit corporation.  

For at least the first three years of the agreement, the health system will continue to operate as a nonprofit public benefit corporation.  After three years and before the expiration of the 15-year agreement, the certain funds managed by BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC can exercise their option to purchase the health system. 

This is the largest and most complex nonprofit hospital transaction in California history.  If the parties agree to the Attorney General’s conditions, the proposed transaction can protect the health system — which is currently losing millions of dollars a year — from bankruptcy.

Attorney General Harris approved the transaction with conditions designed to ensure continuity of care for Californians who rely upon the health system for health care services. The Attorney General’s conditions include:

• For ten years, St. Francis, O’Connor, Saint Louise and Seton Medical Center must operate as acute care hospitals and offer emergency services.
• For ten years, Seton Coastside must operate as a skilled nursing facility with 24-hour emergency services and a minimum of 116 licensed skilled nursing beds.
• For five years, St. Vincent must operate as a general acute care hospital, providing  24-hour emergency medical services and a minimum of eight emergency treatment stations and six Fast Track treatment stations.
• The six facilities must provide the same types and/or levels of emergency and non-emergency services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries and maintain Medi-Cal managed care contracts at each of the facilities.
• $180 million must be invested in capital improvement expenditures at the facilities.
• Charity care for needy patients and community benefits must be provided at historical levels. 
• Essential health care services must continue to be provided at all facilities.
• At each of the facilities and the medical office buildings, there shall be no restriction or limitation on providing or making reproductive health care services available, and this requirement must be explicitly set forth in the facilities’ policies and procedures.
• Substantially all of the 7,000 jobs at the health facilities will continue, with comparable salaries, wages, and job duties.
• All facilities must meet seismic compliance requirements until 2030.
• All facilities and the medical office buildings’ policies and procedures shall explicitly prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.
• All of the facilities will be required to submit to the Attorney General an annual report describing in detail their compliance with the conditions.

The conditional approval of the transaction concludes an in-depth review process by the Office of the Attorney General, including five Health Care Impact Statements by an independent health care expert, six public meetings, and a public comment period.  The Attorney General’s decision comes after careful consideration of public comments, consultation with an independent health care expert, and discussions with concerned community members.  The transaction involved a competitive bidding process administered exclusively by the Daughters of Charity Health System.

The Attorney General’s decision conditionally approving the transaction with the full list of conditions can be found here: https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/charities/pdf/chs.pdf? .

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in First Resort, Inc. v. Herrera et al., a case related to an ordinance requiring crisis pregnancy centers in San Francisco to provide accurate information, and released the following statement:

"We must ensure that all women have equal access to comprehensive reproductive health care services and the facts they need to make informed decisions about their health and their lives."

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

SACRAMENTO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris released the following statement today, following Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of AB 775, the Reproductive FACT Act:

“I am proud to have co-sponsored the Reproductive FACT Act, which ensures that all women have equal access to comprehensive reproductive health care services, and that they have the facts they need to make informed decisions about their health and their lives.  I commend Governor Brown for signing AB 775 and thank Assemblymembers David Chiu and Autumn Burke for championing this important law.”

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris released the following statement on the attack on the Thousand Oaks Planned Parenthood center:

“I am deeply troubled by the act of violence that has been inflicted against the patients and healthcare providers of the Thousand Oaks Planned Parenthood. This incident is a serious threat to our public safety. Patients and health providers have the right to receive care and provide services in a safe environment. Violence should never serve as a means to express a difference in opinion, no matter what side of an issue you stand on.  I have offered the resources of my office to assist local law enforcement in the ongoing investigation.” 

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and 37 other state attorneys general today sent a letter to Congress in support of proposed legislation, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 (S.524/H.R.953), to increase prevention and treatment of heroin and opioid abuse. 

“Drug addiction hurts individual lives, families and communities, posing serious risks to public safety and public health,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris.  “Being smart on crime requires a comprehensive response to addiction, including data-driven prevention, education and drug treatment programs.”

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act will create new evidence-based treatment and intervention programs, increase resources available to first responders and law enforcement to reverse overdoses and save lives, and create more disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications.

The proposed federal legislation would also strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.  The California Department of Justice recently launched a 2.0 version of California’s prescription drug database, Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES), which features a variety of performance improvements and added functionality.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdoses are the leading cause of injury-related death for Americans aged 25 to 64.

A copy of the letter from 38 attorneys general, including Attorney General Harris, is attached to the online version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov/news.

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced changes to regulations implementing Proposition 65, the landmark law requiring businesses to provide warnings if they expose individuals to any listed carcinogens or reproductive toxins.    

The proposed amended regulations are the product of nearly five years of analysis and have been drafted in consultation with business and environmental groups.  They are intended to protect public health and the environment while helping to stem abuse of the law’s mechanism to allow for enforcement by private parties.  The amendments mark the first substantial change to the Attorney General’s Proposition 65 regulations since their adoption in 2001-2003. The 45-day public comment period is open until November 9.

“California has led the nation for decades in protecting our residents and the environment from pollutants and toxic chemicals,” said Attorney General Harris.  “These proposed changes maintain the intent of Proposition 65 and our vital legacy of public health and environmental protections while eliminating incentives to abuse the system.  Good public policy means rejecting the false choice that suggests we must sacrifice our commitment to the environment and public health for California businesses to thrive.”

In 1986, California voters approved the initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. These regulatory changes will help restore public confidence that Proposition 65 is used for its proper health-protective purposes and not abused for private gain.  The proposed amendments focus on increased transparency and accountability to ensure that civil penalties in litigation brought by private enforcers under Proposition 65 are used for purposes that are clearly defined, relevant to the violations which prompted the settlement, and beneficial to Californians. 

The proposed regulations would also increase accountability by capping “in lieu of penalties” payments to ensure that the Office of Environment Health Hazard Assessment receives revenues necessary to continue its work of implementing Proposition 65 and protecting public health, as intended by the statute.  The proposed changes also raise the bar for demonstrating that settlements requiring reformulation confer a significant public benefit, instead making individual cases fact-specific and stating that payments under a settlement “may” confer public benefit.

For information on submitting public comments, click here.

Attorney General Harris has a long history of taking action to protect the health and well-being of California communities.  She has filed lawsuits to enforce Proposition 65 and other environmental laws, protecting local communities from diesel emissions, hazardous electronic waste, and other harmful pollutants.  She has also supported the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and led a coalition of states in intervening to defend the EPA from attacks and legal challenges.