The proposition was placed on the ballot as a result of a joint effort by California's leading Democrats: Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro tempore Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

[18] The law was struck down as unconstitutional in a 5–4 ruling in 2018 by the United States Supreme Court in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, finding that the FACT Act violated the First Amendment.

[19] In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the College Student Right to Access Act, which required public universities to provide abortion medication on campus from January 2023, the first law of its kind in the United States.

Other legislation imposed limitations on the sharing of medical records and ended the requirement for coroners to investigate self-induced or criminal abortions or allow prosecution or civil action against people based on a fetal death certificate.

[27] On May 2, 2022, Politico published a leaked draft opinion of Dobbs, which showed the Supreme Court overturning Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and determining that the federal constitution did not grant a right to an abortion.

[32] In response to the draft opinion, Newsom, Senate President pro tempore Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon issued a joint statement of their intent to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution through an amendment.

[59] California Alliance Pregnancy Care executive director Allison Martinez, Pacific Justice Institute president Brad Dacus, and gynecologist Vansen Wong co-wrote the rebuttal to the argument in favor of Proposition 1, stating that the constitutional amendment was unnecessary in protecting abortion rights and focusing on the cost to taxpayers.

"[65] Zócalo Public Square columnist Joe Mathews wrote in the Ventura County Star on August 11 that Proposition 1 represented an unnecessary risk, stating that "[s]ome freedoms are so fundamental that we shouldn't let the people vote to take them away.

"[68] The move by California Republicans to avoid discussing abortion followed a national strategy to keep anti-abortion positions absent from campaign websites and mailers while focusing on issues such as inflation, crime, education, and homelessness.

"[74] UC Davis School of Law professor Mary Ziegler said that Proposition 1 "opens the door" to judicial interpretation as to whether the constitutional amendment changes existing viability limits on abortion in California.

[80] Multiple writers, such as Ed Kilgore for New York, Ronald Brownstein for The Atlantic, and Jeremy White for Politico, wrote that voter turnout for Proposition 1 could adversely affect the electoral performance of Republican congresspeople such as Ken Calvert, Mike Garcia, Young Kim, Michelle Steel, and David Valadao in the 2022 election for the United States House of Representatives,[81][82] with Kilgore writing that "[k]eeping these seats in the GOP column (much less flipping Democratic ones) will be a lot harder than it might have been had the Supreme Court not abolished federal constitutional abortion rights.

[87] San Francisco Chronicle political writer Joe Garofoli wrote that the margin by which Proposition 1 passed would determine whether the constitutional amendment "will send a national message that...will inspire other states to fight back against the Supreme Court decision.

David Lightman and Lindsey Holden wrote an article in The Sacramento Bee on July 18 that the ballot proposition and the wider issue of abortion could lead to the return of nullification policies.

[92] San José State University and Menlo College lecturer Donna Crane told the Associated Press that a federal ban or subsequent decisions by the Supreme Court would render California's abortion laws null.

[115][116] On August 25, a Women's Equality Day event at San Francisco City Hall was interrupted while Supervisor Catherine Stefani was giving a speech by anti-abortion protesters demonstrating against Proposition 1.

[117] Competing protests over Proposition 1 occurred at Sather Gate on the University of California, Berkeley campus between Rise Up for Abortion Rights and Pro-Life San Francisco on August 26, raising awareness of the proposed constitutional amendment.

[149] Urging Californians to vote Yes, the League of Women Voters of California wrote that "Prop 1 protects access to the care that will give individuals and families the freedom to make those choices".

[153] The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists explained their position supporting Proposition 1 by stating that the proposal "would amend the California Constitution to guarantee the fundamental right for patients to make and clinicians to carry out reproductive decisions without medically unjustified legislative interference".

[130][155] On September 8, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties senior vice president Robert Armenta authored an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times in support of Proposition 1.

[130] On July 25, the California Nurses Association endorsed Proposition 1 as it would "ensure that those conversations around reproductive health care – including about abortion and contraception – remain between a provider and their patient and are based on science and facts, not someone else's political agenda".

[130] NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju expressed support for Proposition 1 and said that the constitutional amendment "sends a clear message across the country that California will never stop protecting the freedom to decide".

"[97] Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor emerita Marjorie Cohn wrote an opinion article in Truthout on September 21 of the need to pass Proposition 1 because "the California Constitution does not explicitly contain the right to abortion.

"[179] The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association recommended voting Yes on Proposition 1, writing that "it is important that the state ensures the strength and clarity of reproductive freedom law".

[188] On November 2, Linhares emailed the San Mateo Daily Journal's Mark Simon, stating his opposition to Proposition 1 and claiming that the ballot measure "allows abortion in the last three months" of pregnancy.

"[127] On November 5, Betsey Stone announced the Socialist Workers Party's opposition to the constitutional amendment in The Militant, arguing that "we need to fight to make abortion rarer by changing the social conditions that have led to its widespread use.

[182] Southern California News Group editorial board member John Seiler wrote an opinion article in The San Bernardino Sun on September 3 in which he stated that he would vote against Proposition 1, noting that the ballot measure will still pass.

"[201] At the American Liberty Forum in Ramona on September 24, San Diego County Sheriff candidate John Hemmerling, endorsed by the Republican Party, refused to "take any position on state propositions or proposed federal legislation related to abortion.

[242] Rene Almeling and Adora Svitak, respectively a sociology professor and graduate student at Yale University, wrote that a national abortion ban remained a possibility, even after California's passage of Proposition 1, if Republicans regain full control of the federal government in the 2024 elections.

[253] Melanie Mason, Seema Mehta, and Hannah Fry wrote in the Los Angeles Times that "Democrats did not see the same electoral boost in California congressional races as they did in states where abortion rights [were] more threatened, such as Michigan.

[255] Assemblymember Mia Bonta put forward a bill prohibiting reverse keyword and geofence warrants for California law enforcement and disallowing California-based companies from complying with them, which could be used to identify people who searched for or sought out abortion services.