California to become ‘abortion sanctuary’
California is planning to become an abortion sanctuary for Americans from other states as pro-abortion activists warn that many states could soon ban the practice.
In response to the possibility of the pro-abortion ‘Roe v. Wade’ Supreme Court decision of 1973 being overturned – which would result in more conservative states making abortion after a set number of weeks illegal – California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “We’ll be a sanctuary.”
“We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections,” the governor revealed.
The California Future of Abortion Council, which is working with Newsom’s office, published a list of recommendations should other states outlaw abortion, including “investment in abortion funds,” improved medical transportation services, and an evaluation of “existing barriers to abortion care later in pregnancy.”
“It is imperative that California policymakers begin acting upon these recommendations and preparing the state to serve potentially millions more people seeking abortion care as other states prepare extreme bans to an essential health service,” the council warned, adding that California needs to take “meaningful action” to “ensure abortion is available and equitably accessible to all.”
In her own statement, California State Senate President Toni Atkins said the state would have to work to ensure that California remains “a beacon of hope for the rest of our nation” and “for ourselves, for our daughters and sons, our gender-fluid and non-binary loved ones, and all those who come after us.”
Pro-abortion activists have expressed fear that Roe v. Wade – which ruled women have a right to get an abortion without restriction – could be overturned as the Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a law in Mississippi that prohibits the majority of abortions after 15 weeks.
Activists fear that such a ruling would lead to other conservative states also implementing similar laws.