California Gov. Newsom welcomes women to his state for abortions
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday welcomed women seeking abortions to come to his state, signing a "Proclamation on Reproductive Freedom."
He described the proclamation as the reaffirmation of California's commitment to women's "reproductive freedom."
"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 wrote, according to the Sacramento Bee.
The governor's proclamation comes as several states, including Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri, have passed legislation recently that would place tighter restrictions on abortion.
Newsom has slammed such legislation, claiming it is all about "power" and "control."
"This is about power. Control. Overturning Roe v Wade," he tweeted last week after Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation that would ban abortions after eight weeks.
What about the letter he signed along with other governors?
Newsom also signed onto a joint letter on Friday with governors Kate Brown (D-Ore.) and Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) urging other states to review their "reproductive freedom" laws and to develop laws protecting abortion in their states.
The letter claims that restrictions on abortion put women's lives at risk.
"[S]tates across the country have enacted new and extreme restrictions on abortion, attacking safe and legal health care and putting women's lives at risk," the governors wrote.
"The common goal among these bans and restrictions is clear: to violate a woman's constitutional right to safe and legal abortion, contrary to 40 years of precedent," the letter continues.
"In the absence of federal leadership on this issue, states must step up and put in place their own protections – both in statute and in their state constitutions, and through the expansion of family planning and education – to defend every American's right to reproductive freedom.
"Roe is settled law, but 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."
