SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The issue of abortion is front and center again in Congress, following the Supreme Court's announcement that it will hear a major challenge to abortion rights this fall. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday on legislation that would establish the legal right to abortion in all 50 states under federal law, no matter what the court decides.

In the hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said 2021 is on track to have the most anti-abortion restriction in decades.

Democrats expressed concern about how the Supreme Court's new six-member conservative majority has agreed to take up the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, in their next term starting in October. That concern is also reflected in pro-choice organizations, like the Center for Reproductive Rights, where Jackie Blank, the federal legislative strategist, fears the outcome of this case could ultimately harm women.

“Access to abortion is a matter of racial justice, reproductive justice, gender justice, economic justice,” Blank said.

The Mississippi case could ban most abortions in-state after 15 weeks of pregnancy and would act as a catalyst for other states to do the same. Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established a woman's right to choose, allows abortions up to 24 weeks, saying a fetus is not viable before that.

“The fact that [justices] did take it up is alarming and so if Roe is overturned, 24 states could act almost immediately to ban abortion, and that is a real possible outcome of this case that Roe overturned,” Blank said.

In response, California lawmakers are preparing for the erosion of abortion rights. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that would guarantee the right to an abortion. The first time it was introduced was in 2013. Chu said it was initially created for a moment like this.

She’s joined by Blumenthal and others, including Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX).

“This is the most supported pro-choice bill that we've ever had in the history of Congress,” Chu said.

But anti-abortion advocates said Chu’s legislation infringes on states’ rights.

Mary Rose Short of the organization Right to Life regularly sets up images for women to see outside abortion clinics in California, to educate them, she said, about the procedure. She says if choice is the main argument, Chu should allow states to decide their own laws.

“It's a clever attempt to undermine states' rights, to enable anyone to sue. Overturning Roe is a restoration of the right to states,” Short said.

Short said even if Roe is overturned she knows states controlled by Democrats, like California, won’t see any immediate changes, but she's hopeful that over time this case could mark the start of weakening abortion rights even in places like California.

“California is having the opportunity to watch very strict abortion regulations play out in other states, we'll be able to witness whether what we've been told by the abortion industry and to pro-abortion politicians is in fact true, that women will be harmed,” Short said. “That will give California the opportunity then to witness that firsthand and then perhaps vote to change and restrict abortion in California.”

Chu said if Roe were to be seriously weakened or overturned, women could end up traveling to California for more freedoms over their reproductive health.

“More women would be forced then to get their services in California,” Chu said. “Those who are low income, how can they afford to do such a thing? So we know that this should be women's choice no matter where they live, no matter what their zip code is, and that's why we are pushing this so hard.”

Chu acknowledged the Women’s Health Protection Act has little chance of getting through the evenly controlled Senate, but she's hoping that, at a minimum, it draws attention to the threats abortion rights are facing in the country.

The closest states to California that may immediately restrict abortion include Utah and Idaho, according to data from the Center for Reproductive Rights. These two states are among the dozen that have what are called “trigger bans,” meaning if Roe is overturned, new abortion restrictions would automatically go into effect.