Current Status - California

As of September, California continues to expand and reinforce an already broad framework of protections for women’s rights.

In the final weeks of the legislative session, lawmakers approved measures addressing reproductive-health privacy, maternal mental health, menopause and workplace discrimination, child marriage, campus sexual misconduct, student privacy, and voting rights. Many of those bills are now awaiting action from Governor Gavin Newsom.

At the same time, federal actions are putting new pressure on some of California's protections. Most notably, California is challenging new U.S. Postal Service rules that could affect the state's vote-by-mail system ahead of the November election. Every active registered voter in California receives a mail ballot, making the state particularly exposed to changes in federal election-mail policy.

California's constitutional protections and longstanding legal framework continue to make major state-level rollbacks difficult, while policymakers are increasingly focused on strengthening existing protections and insulating them from federal and interstate challenges.

Top 5 Things to Know

California is strengthening its own voting protections while fighting a new federal threat. Lawmakers approved legislation strengthening the California Voting Rights Act, while the state joined a multistate lawsuit challenging new federal requirements affecting mail-ballot delivery.
Lawmakers approved another round of protections for reproductive and women's health. Bills awaiting action from the governor would strengthen privacy protections for abortion and contraception records, maternal mental-health care, cervical-cancer screening access, and civil-rights protections related to reproductive healthcare decisions.
California could explicitly protect women from menopause discrimination. AB 1940 would add perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause to the state's definition of sex discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
California is updating protections for sexual misconduct and abuse in schools. Late-session legislation addresses sexual deepfakes, sextortion, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment in higher education. Lawmakers also reached an agreement preserving many childhood sexual-assault survivors' ability to pursue claims against public institutions.
California could become the latest state to prohibit child marriage.
AB 1267 would prohibit marriage and domestic partnerships for anyone under 18, eliminating California's existing pathway allowing minors to marry with parental consent and court approval. The Legislature approved the bill August 26 and sent it to the governor.

Women’s Health

California continues to stand out nationally for its reproductive rights protections and broader health access for women. However, recent clinic closures and a growing budget deficit show that strong laws don’t always guarantee stable on-the-ground access.

In August, lawmakers approved several additional protections. AB 2448, now awaiting action from the governor, would require stronger safeguards for electronically stored medical records involving abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care, including protections against access from outside California. SB 626 would strengthen maternal mental-health screening and require follow-up evaluation, treatment, or referral for patients who screen positive during pregnancy or postpartum.

Reproductive Care

State constitution protects abortion and contraception (2022 voter-approved amendment).
Telehealth and mail-order medication access are fully protected, while “shield laws” safeguard doctors serving out-of-state patients. These shield laws moved from theory to practice in late 2025, when California rejected Louisiana's request to prosecute a California provider. In 2026, a Texas-based civil lawsuit sought to use that state’s private enforcement model to challenge a California physician who prescribed abortion medication to a Texas resident.
Pharmacists can now dispense birth control directly, and the state is exploring over-the-counter access options to make contraception easier to get.
Expanded insurance requirements now include broader coverage for fertility care, including IVF, and clarify eligibility across different family structures.

Healthcare Access

California continues investing in women's healthcare access across multiple stages of life. Recent policies have expanded fertility coverage, strengthened postpartum and maternal mental health support, and increased attention to menopause-related care and provider training.

Medi-Cal now covers nearly all low-income adults, including undocumented residents ages 26–49.
A new law requires many large-group health plans to cover infertility treatment, including IVF, expanding access to fertility care for people who previously faced significant cost barriers.
Expanded postpartum and mental-health benefits remain among the most robust nationally.
AB 1906, approved by lawmakers in August, would require many health plans and Medi-Cal to cover cervical cancer screenings without cost-sharing, including qualifying FDA-authorized home test kits.
California has also expanded attention to menopause care through provider training initiatives and ongoing legislative efforts aimed at improving healthcare access across different stages of women's lives.
Budget pressures and rising demand—especially from out-of-state patients—are straining clinic capacity in some regions.

Workplace Rights

California continues to lead nationally on paid leave, wage transparency, and anti-discrimination protections.

In August, lawmakers approved several additional workplace protections before the legislative session ended. AB 1940 would explicitly prohibit discrimination based on perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and related medical conditions. AB 2563 would make California's definition of sex discrimination more consistent across state law, explicitly including pregnancy, childbirth, contraception, abortion, fertility treatment, and other reproductive-health decisions.

A new law makes it easier for workers to recover unpaid wages in pay discrimination cases. Employees now have more time to file claims and may be able to recover more years of lost pay if discrimination is proven.
SB 1024 would provide eligible public firefighters with up to 26 weeks of paid leave when they are unable to work because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, while protecting benefits and the right to return to their position.
Through the end of 2027, adults who experienced workplace sexual assault or harassment — especially in cases involving alleged cover-ups — have a renewed opportunity to file civil lawsuits, even if the incident happened years ago.
Paid Family Leave enhancements allow lower-income workers to receive up to 90% wage replacement, with many others receiving about 70%.

Violence & Safety

California’s legal framework for addressing domestic violence and gun safety is strong, but enforcement and access to services can vary by county. Differences in local resources, court practices, and survivor support programs mean protections are not always applied consistently across the state.

California removed the long-standing spousal exception from its rape law, meaning the law now treats sexual assault within marriage the same as sexual assault outside of marriage.
California lawmakers approved legislation prohibiting child marriage. AB 1267 would establish 18 as the minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships, eliminating the state's existing process that allows minors to marry with parental consent and court approval. The bill is awaiting action from the governor.
Public schools must now put formal systems in place to help prevent sexual abuse by staff, with required safeguards phased in during 2026.
Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs) allow family, community members, and law enforcement to request temporary firearm removal.

Voting & Civic Participation

California maintains one of the most accessible voting systems in the country. The state is also continuing to defend voter privacy protections in ongoing federal litigation involving requests for unredacted voter registration data, while lawmakers advance additional election access and polling-place protection measures.

All registered voters receive a mail ballot automatically.
Same-day registration and automatic voter registration via the DMV increase voter participation.
Pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds helps expand the electorate and civic engagement.

California's vote-by-mail system is now facing a significant federal threat ahead of the November election. In August, the U.S. Postal Service finalized new rules that would impose federal requirements affecting the delivery of mail ballots. California joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the rules, arguing that they interfere with states' authority to administer elections.

The legal dispute remains unresolved. California's existing election rules remain in effect, and county election officials are scheduled to begin mailing ballots to registered voters by October 5. The state also provides in-person voting and ballot drop-off options.

At the state level, lawmakers approved SB 1164, part of the proposed California Voting Rights Act of 2026. The measure would strengthen protections against voter suppression and vote dilution and establish additional state oversight for certain jurisdictions with recent voting-rights violations. The bill is awaiting action from the governor.

Education

California goes beyond federal Title IX requirements with state-level laws that strengthen protections and reduce barriers for students.

Beginning July 1, 2026, every public school campus must provide at least one unlocked, gender-neutral bathroom.
California is also creating a new state Office of Civil Rights focused on preventing discrimination in schools. The office will help school districts address complaints related to antisemitism, gender, religion, and LGBTQ status, and will track and report patterns of discrimination statewide.
SB 493 requires colleges to meet higher standards for responding to campus harassment and violence.
K–12 protections include privacy rules for LGBTQ+ students and free menstrual products beginning in elementary schools.

In August, lawmakers also approved new protections addressing technology-facilitated sexual misconduct in higher education. AB 2212 would explicitly address sextortion, nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes, and other forms of technology-facilitated sexual harassment under state higher-education protections.

AB 1159 would strengthen student-data privacy protections, including restrictions involving reproductive-health information, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and prohibit covered education technology companies from using student data to train generative AI systems.

Contraception and the messy reality of private insurance (Aug 26)
New law offers a blueprint for replacing lost Medicaid funding (May 26)
California expands insurance coverage for IVF (Feb 26)
California encourages provider training on menopause and mental health (Oct 25)
California’s Medi-Cal program faces state and federal budget pressures (Oct 25)
CA shield law protects doctors (Sep 25)
California expands family leave (Sep 25)
CA laws strengthen equity in public education (Sep 25)
Mail-in voting guaranteed in California (Jul 25)
Prop 1 - California protects reproductive freedom (Jul 25)