TEXAS ABORTION LAW: Newsom, Planned Parenthood React To Abortion Ban
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- After a controversial new abortion law went into effect Wednesday in Texas, politicians and activists in California started speaking up.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) both released statements early Wednesday decrying the new law, which allows citizens to sue Texan residents who had an abortion after six weeks. If the plaintiff wins the suit, he or she can collect $10,000.
The law went into effect after the 5th Circuit Court Of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court both ignored calls to stay the law.
"The inaction by the Supreme Court on a blatantly unconstitutional ban has taken away a crucial right to millions of people in Texas and without a doubt threatens their ability to make decisions about their body, their lives, and their futures," the PPAC President Jodi Hicks said in a statement. "Many Black, Latino, Indigenous and people of color, those with low incomes, and people in rural areas will face the greatest barriers to abortion access under this unconstitutional law. And there is little doubt hostile legislatures in other states will see this as a greenlight to enact their own harmful and dangerous bans on abortion."
Newsom made a statement on SCOTUS lack of action on the Texan abortion law.
"I am outraged that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Texas' ban on most abortions to take effect. Silently, in the dead of night, the Supreme Court has eviscerated the fundamental protection of a woman's right to choose that Roe v. Wade has protected for the last 50 years," Newsom wrote. "In California, we will ensure that women continue to have access to critical health care services, including abortion, and California will continue to lead the nation in expanding access to reproductive and sexual health care. And I will continue to appoint judges and justices who will faithfully follow the Constitution and precedent to uphold people's rights, unlike this disappointing inaction from the high court."
Over his time as governor, Newsom has taken several steps to protect reproductive freedom in the state. In 2019, he signed "a Proclamation on Reproductive Freedom" that reaffirmed "California's commitment to protecting women's reproductive choices." He's also signed multiple bills with the same effect, such as SB 374 earlier this year and SB 24 and AB 1264 in 2019.
Newsom's attorney general, Rob Bonta, also commented on the Texan law, stating that "I will continue to fight to ensure all women have the #RightToChoose."
"California will not waver when it comes to protecting your access to healthcare and reproductive freedom," Bonta tweeted.
As Newsom faces a recall on Sept. 14, Hicks used her statement on the implementation of the Texan abortion ban to show support for the embattled governor.
"Californians looking to protect access to abortion in our state, I implore you to vote NO on Question 1 in the Republican-led recall attempt of Governor Gavin Newsom. California's leadership as a Reproductive Freedom state – and Governor Newsom's commitment as a champion of sexual and reproductive health care – is needed now more than ever. There is no question that access to abortion is on the ballot in two weeks," Hicks wrote.
