AB 1973 removes California's first-trimester limit on abortions performed by non-physician providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
AB 1973 removes California's existing first-trimester limit on abortions performed by nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physician assistants, authorizing these non-physician providers to perform procedural abortions at any point in pregnancy without a doctor present or supervising. The bill also shields providers from having a California license denied or disciplined based on abortion-related conduct — including criminal convictions — in other states.
The American Council opposes AB 1973 because it expands, rather than limits, who may end a human life and at what stage of pregnancy that life may be taken. Every child in the womb is made in the image of God from conception (Psalm 139:13-16), and removing the first-trimester ceiling on non-physician abortion providers moves California further from protecting that life, not closer. Shielding out-of-state providers from accountability for conduct that would concern California's own licensing boards weakens oversight precisely where it matters most.
AB 1973 has passed the Assembly and, after clearing the Senate Appropriations Committee, was read a second time in the Senate on August 11, 2026, and ordered to a third reading — putting it on track for a Senate floor vote in the near future. We urge senators to reject it.
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