California’s law is meant to give Arizonans an option to receive legal abortions from their doctor over the next several months when nearly all abortions in the state will be temporarily banned.

There’s a law in Arizona — first passed in 1864, but not enforced for decades — that bans nearly all abortions in the state. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that law would take effect in June now that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states set their own abortion laws.

The state Legislature quickly voted to repeal that law, and Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs promptly signed it. But the repeal won’t take effect until September at the earliest, leaving an approximately three-month window when most abortions would be banned in the state.

California’s new law, which takes effect immediately, allows licensed doctors in Arizona to come to California and perform abortions for their patients through the end of November. Licensed Arizona doctors would still have to fill out an application to perform abortions in California. But if the doctors meet certain requirements, the law directs California regulators to approve their application within five business days.

“California stands ready to protect reproductive freedom,” Newsom said.

Since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, more than 20 states began enforcing abortion bans of varying degrees.

California has done the opposite, with Newsom vowing to make the state a “ sanctuary ” for people in other states seeking abortions. California has passed dozens of laws to protect abortion access, including setting aside $20 million in taxpayer money to help pay for patients in other states to travel to California to get an abortion.

The law Newsom signed on Thursday does not include new money to help Arizona patients travel to California for abortions. But Newsom partnered with the advocacy group Red Wine and Blue to raise money from private donors to help Arizona patients travel to California.

The group, headquartered in Ohio and launched by the Arizona Freedom Trust, seeks to organize suburban women. It had raised just over $111,000 toward its nearly $500,000 goal, according to its website.

Newsom and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature worked quickly to get this law passed. But some Republicans questioned the need for it. Last year, Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed an executive order barring local prosecutors from bringing abortion-related charges.

Still, Democrats in the California Legislature felt the law was necessary. State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley and the bill’s author, said a law was stronger than an executive order from a governor.

“Once again California has made it crystal clear for all who need or deliver essential reproductive care: We’ve got your back,” Skinner said.

The law says Arizona doctors would have to tell California regulators where they planned to perform abortions in the state. But the law bars California regulators from publishing any information on their website about Arizona doctors aside from the doctor’s name, status and license number.

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NARAL Pro-Choice America, an influential abortion-rights group, announced Wednesday that it is changing its name to Reproductive Freedom for All.

The rebrand was needed to better reflect how people think about abortion access little more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to the procedure, according to the advocacy organization.

“The fight for abortion rights and access is at a critical moment. With the coalition of Americans who support reproductive freedom growing by the day, our leadership identified a clearer and more inclusive path forward to mobilize this new and expanded base of support,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of the group, in a statement.

For decades, abortion-rights advocates used the term “pro-choice” while pushing for policies protecting reproductive rights and women’s health services. But when the nation’s highest court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, supporters and opponents of abortion rights scrambled to adjust their messaging in a country where individual states now determine abortion laws.

Democratic-led states have largely fought to strengthen abortion access while Republican-led states have worked to restrict or outright ban it. Fifteen states ban abortion at all stages, most with some exceptions. Two others have banned it once cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks.

Reproductive Freedom for All reflects that abortion restrictions are just another form of the government intruding on individual freedom — an argument activists have increasingly focused on over the past year, the group said.

“Reproductive Freedom for All is a demand, a call to action, and a vision of the future we’re fighting for. Together, we’re going to make that vision come true,” Timmaraju said.

The group plans to connect abortion access with the need to protect individual freedoms heading into the 2024 election as abortion will be a key issue on the state level in legislative and ballot battles. Two years prior, abortion was critical in securing big midterm wins for Democrats. They held on to control in the Senate and supporters prevailed in all six states where the issue was on the ballot.

A measure to ensure abortion access is on the November ballot in Ohio after withstanding legal challenges. It would have faced a harder path if voters hadn’t rejected a measure in August that would have required at least 60% of the vote to amend the state constitution.

Measures on abortion are also expected to be on voters’ ballots in 2024 in Arizona, Maryland, New York and South Dakota where advocates are pushing to enshrine abortion protections in state constitutions.

Reproductive Freedom for All has gone through several name changes since it was founded in 1969 and launched as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws.

The group became the National Abortion Rights Action League when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, and switched to the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League 20 years later. By 2003, it became NARAL Pro-Choice America.

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