Anti-abortion advocates rally at California Capitol as Newsom plans to unveil more pro-abortion legislation
SACRAMENTO - Anti-abortion advocates rallied in Sacramento today for the fourth annual March for Life. People were outspoken that Californians should know there are more resources out there than getting abortions.
"Unborn babies are humans and they have a life, and it's our duty to protect them," said Elisa Gavrila, who was at the march on Monday.
The day included a rally, prayer, worship, speakers and a march through the streets of Sacramento.
"I was scared, I was frightened, and I went to Planned Parenthood, and they only gave me one option," said Carol Marie Siedenburg, who has had two abortions since she was 17 years old. "They confirmed me in my fear rather than filling me up in my identity as a strong young woman."
Now, she and others are fighting for change in California, her home state that has passed dozens of laws over the past two years expanding access to abortions.
"I've come to deeply, deeply regret the fact that I had an abortion and I can't do anything about it to change it now," Siedenburg told CBS13.
Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new campaign ad in Alabama over the weekend showing two women getting pulled over and asked to take a pregnancy test.
This ad is targeting an Alabama bill that would make it a crime for people who help minors get an abortion without informing a parent of guardian.
"Not one piece of legislation has ever put women in prison, so this is just a propaganda campaign," said AJ Hurley, outreach director at White Rose Resistance.
Newsom also plans to propose a bill for Arizona doctors to perform abortions in California by expediting licensing after the Arizona Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold an 1864 near-ban on abortion in the state.
"This is a court that wants to bring us back to the 19th century," said Newsom at a press conference in Modesto on Monday. "And as a consequence of that, we know on the basis of the past that people are going to come into the State of California."
Newsom said they would get dual-use licenses allowing doctors in Arizona to participate in reproductive care in California in a temporary and urgent speed basis.
He said he is announcing this legislation at the Women's Caucus on Wednesday.
"Why don't we actually use this tax money to help women get out of the situation that they find themselves in, instead of giving them a solution that is going to leave them literally bruised and broken," Hurley said.
California is a front-runner state for women's reproductive rights, but anti-abortion advocates are continuing to push back.
"We shouldn't promote abortion as a means of fixing social ills and in place of social programs and providing help for families," said Kristin Turner, who was marching on Monday.
