Chapter 93A — SAN FRANCISCO REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS POLICY

Sec. 93A.1. Declaration of Policy.

Sec. 93A.2. Access to Reproductive Health Services.

Sec. 93A.3. Use of City Funds.

Sec. 93A.4. Monitoring and Preventing Discrimination.

It shall be the official policy of the City and County of San Francisco to serve as a safe and welcoming place for patients seeking reproductive health care, to protect the rights of pregnant persons to bodily autonomy and control over their private medical decisions, and to safeguard confidential health information between patients seeking access to reproductive health care and their providers. To these ends:

(a) The City shall keep personally identifiable health information regarding reproductive health care confidential, and shall not disclose such information unless authorized or required by law. This policy does not prohibit the lawful use or disclosure of health information otherwise authorized by law for the purpose of providing medical care, social services, or similar assistance, or prohibit the lawful sharing of deidentified data for research purposes as provided by applicable law.

(b) It shall be against City policy to criminally investigate or prosecute a person for having accessed or provided reproductive health care, or to assist or cooperate with such an investigation or prosecution. This policy does not apply to cases involving the use of coercion or force against the pregnant person, or to cases based on conduct that was criminally negligent to the health of the pregnant person seeking care.

(c) The City shall ensure that City-funded reproductive health care providers provide accurate medical information as it relates to reproductive health care.

(d) March 10, or such other date approved by the Board of Supervisors by resolution, shall be known and celebrated in San Francisco as Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.

(e) The City shall endeavor to keep patients and providers safe, secure, and free from harassment or abuse when they are receiving and providing reproductive health care.

(f) The City Attorney is urged to continue supporting reproductive rights.

(Added by Proposition O, 11/5/2024, Eff. 12/20/2024)

(a) For purposes of this Chapter 93A, the terms “abortion,” client,” [1 ] “emergency contraception,” “health information,” “licensed medical provider,” “limited services pregnancy center,” “pregnancy services center,” “premises,” and “prenatal care” shall be defined consistent with Administrative Code Chapter 93, as it may be amended from time to time. The findings and purposes of Chapter 93 are incorporated herein by reference.

(b) The Department of Public Health (“DPH”) shall maintain a website that lists pregnancy services centers in the City that provide or offer referrals for abortions or emergency contraception, as well as limited service pregnancy centers. In addition, the City shall maintain a non-emergency telephone number where members of the public can obtain information about where to obtain abortions and emergency contraception.

(c) DPH may install signage outside of limited services pregnancy centers in the City, to inform the public that those facilities do not provide or offer referrals for abortions or emergency contraception, and to provide information about where those services may be available. DPH may prioritize installing such signage in geographic areas of the City where there is a greater need for abortion or emergency contraception services. DPH shall provide a limited services pregnancy center at least 30 days’ written notice before installing the signage. If the facility or the owner of the premises at any time wishes to contest the determination that the facility is a limited services pregnancy center, they may file a petition with the Director of Public Health to review the matter. The Director’s decision shall be final. Subject to that decision, DPH shall install the signage in the public right of way, at or near the entrance to the facility. The Department of Public Works shall assist DPH with the installation and maintenance of the signage.

(Added by Proposition O, 11/5/2024, Eff. 12/20/2024)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Proposition O, 11/5/2024

(a) The City shall identify and allocate funding that supports access to abortions and emergency contraception in San Francisco. The City shall allocate revenues from the Reproductive Rights Fund in Section 10.100-265 of the Administrative Code for these purposes, and may supplement monies in the Fund with additional City funds, subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions set forth in the Charter.

(b) Commencing January 1, 2025, City departments shall prohibit City-funded pregnancy services centers that offer abortions from requiring abortion providers to possess or obtain additional medical qualifications beyond those required by state and federal law, in order to provide abortions. The Director of Public Health may grant exceptions to this prohibition if the additional qualifications will further the patient receiving adequate care.

(c) California Penal Code Section 13778.2(b) restricts City officers and employees from cooperating with or providing information to any individual or agency or department from another state or to a federal law enforcement agency regarding an abortion that is lawful under California law and performed in California. City officers and employees also may not cooperate with or provide information to any individual or agency or

department from another state’s law enforcement agency or a federal law enforcement agency, regarding any of the following, to the extent they do not fall under 13778.2(b) as it may be amended from time to time: (1) a person’s possession or use of contraception; (2) a person’s use of in vitro fertilization; (3) a person’s pregnancy status; and (4) a person’s choice to get an abortion. This subsection (c) does not prohibit the use of City resources to investigate criminal activity in San Francisco that may involve the performance of an abortion, or any of the numbered items in the preceding sentence, provided that information relating to a specific individual is not shared for the purpose of enforcing another state’s abortion law or a federal abortion law. This subsection (c) also shall not be construed to obstruct the constitutional and statutory powers and duties of the District Attorney, the Sheriff, the Chief Adult Probation Officer, or the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer.

(Added by Proposition O, 11/5/2024, Eff. 12/20/2024)

Existing law prohibits housing and employment discrimination on the basis of a person’s reproductive health decisionmaking. The Department on the Status of Women and the Department of Public Health shall monitor changes in these laws, and consider policy and legislative strategies to reinstate those protections in San Francisco if such laws are modified contrary to the San Francisco Reproductive Rights Policy in Section 93A.1.

(Added by Proposition O, 11/5/2024, Eff. 12/20/2024)