Governor Gavin Newsom (D) of California announced on Sunday that state legislators will present a bill this week to support women who are coming from Arizona to receive an abortion in reaction to the implementation of one of the nation’s harshest abortion laws.
An 1864 abortion statute that forbade access to the operation in almost all circumstances was put into effect on May 1st by an Arizona Supreme Court decision rendered earlier this month.
State legislators have rejected attempts to repeal the law, despite appeals from national Republicans to replace it with a less stringent one.
“We now have a ban [that] goes back to 1864 in the state of Arizona, and they’re celebrating — 1864. I thought the Republican Party wanted to put a wrecking ball to the 21st century,” Newsom stated. “Now they want to recreate the 19th century.”
The “emergency legislation” would enable Arizona-based abortionists to continue their operations from adjacent California by enabling them to obtain rapid approval to operate there.
When the bill will be submitted or how he intended to get it through the Legislature before the summer break was not specified by Newsom.
The governor’s office also stated that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ (D) call to action served as the impetus for the endeavor.
“Arizona AG Kris Mayes identified a need to expedite the ability for Arizona abortion providers to continue to provide care to Arizonans as a way to support patients in their state seeking abortion care in California,” the office stated in a statement. “We are responding to this call and will have more details to share in the coming days.”
The emphasis on Arizona, according to Newsom, who is also serving as a surrogate for President Biden’s reelection, coincides with the apparent concentration of campaigning for abortion rights in November.
Arizona will have abortion-related ballot proposals on the ballot in November, and several other states, including Nevada, a crucial swing state, have sought ballot items of a similar nature.
Democrats have benefited from these efforts in recent elections, as seen by their victories for governor in deeply red states like Kentucky and Kansas.
