Women seeking abortions welcome in California, says Gavin Newsom as other US states restrict terminations
'Come to California'. This is Governor Gavin Newsom's message for women who want an abortion. In the wake of restrictive bans he's encouraging women in those states to come to California to end unwanted pregnancies and encouraging other governors to fortify abortion rights for their own citizens.
Newsom and fellow Democratic governors in Oregon and Washington sent a letter on Friday to other governors urging them to enact laws and amend their constitutions to strengthen abortion protections and access to contraceptives and sex education.
Gavin also released a proclamation on Friday touting his state's easy access to abortion including the use of state funds for ending pregnancies under subsidized health insurance plans for disadvantaged people while US laws bans states from using federal money for the same purpose.
"California will continue to uphold women's equality and liberty by protecting their reproductive freedom, educating Californians about their rights to reproductive freedom, welcoming women to California to fully exercise their reproductive rights, and acting as a model for other states that want to ensure full reproductive freedom for women," Newsom said, according to Fresno Bee.
The move came after multiple states including Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi and Georgia passed pro-life measures that either severely restrict or ban abortion after six weeks.
The Alabama abortion law particularly prompted an outcry from pro-choice activists because it bans the procedure in nearly all cases, even in the case of rape.
"We have been battling an escalating attack on the freedom of women and families to determine their futures," the governors write, according to the paper. "Newly enacted and clearly unconstitutional laws in a handful of states compel our states to act now to reaffirm longstanding commitments to safeguard the fundamental rights of women."
The California governor has jumped on the issue as a part of his political campaign for reelection in 2022. According to the Fresno Bee, Newsom called out the states that have enacted new abortion laws in a video paid for by his re-election campaign and in another announcement urged movie production companies to move to California. This was after several film production companies and movie stars pledged and announced that they won't film in states that have passed pro-life measures.
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