Assembly Unanimously Passes Bill to Require Hospitals to Provide EC to Rape Survivors
The Assembly on Monday voted unanimously in favor of a bill (AB 1860) that would require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape survivors when they receive medical treatment, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. According to Assembly member Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), who sponsored the bill, 32,000 of the 300,000 American women raped each year become pregnant. EC prevents pregnancy in at least 75% of cases when taken within 72 hours of sex, she said. The bill, which would make California the fourth state to require hospitals to offer EC to rape survivors, moves to the Senate for approval (Long Beach Press-Telegram, 4/23).
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