California Governor Gavin Newsom launched a multi-state billboard campaign in parts of the country where abortion is the most restricted, to play up his state’s progressive laws that protect a person’s right to the procedure.
“Just launched billboards in 7 of the most restrictive anti-abortion states that explain how women can access care – no matter where they live,” the Democratic governor, who is rumoured to be eyeing a run for president in 2024, tweeted on Thursday when the campaign was unveiled. “To any woman seeking an abortion in these anti-freedom states: CA will defend your right to make decisions about your own health.”
The 18 billboards, spread out across seven US states with some of the most restrictive anti-abortion legislation on the books, feature calls-to-action alongside pictures of women in handcuffs and in others pensively looking off into the distance with the words: “Need an abortion? California is ready to help.”
The governor specifically tagged each of the relevant Republican governors in the states where the ads will be running, which include Indiana’s Eric Holcomb, Mississippi’s Tate Reeves, Ohio’s Mike DeWine, Texas’s Greg Abbott, South Carolina’s Henry McMaster, South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Oklahoma’s Kevin Stitt.
Funding for the out-of-state billboard campaign, which directs interested parties to head to the recently launched one-stop informational website, abortion.ca.gov, came from his reelection campaign money, The Washington Post first reported.
The governor’s campaign to cross state lines and meddle in the affairs of his Republican counterparts seems to have both captured national attention and, perhaps intentionally, antagonised the leaders in those billboarded jurisdictions.
“In South Dakota, we are a destination for FREEDOM and LIFE,” tweeted South Dakota Governor Noem, whose state has banned the procedure with no exceptions for rape or incest. “Now that you’ve run your billboards in SD, why don’t you get to work cleaning up the human feces on the streets of your cities and turning the lights back on. By the way, did you write this tweet in the dark?”
The California governor’s attack on states where abortions have been severely restricted arrives after he prominently denounced the Conservative-majority Supreme Court for dismissing rulings from Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey to uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion access at 15 weeks.
In several US states, that summertime ruling set off a series of trigger bans that effectively outlawed or severely curtailed a person’s ability to undergo an abortion.
Since that 24 June overturning of a nearly half a century precedent, Gov Newsom has made clear his intentions to support Californians and, more broadly, Americans right to an abortion.
“Abortion is legal in California. It will remain that way. I just signed a bill that makes our state a safe haven for women across the nation,” the Democrat wrote in a tweet that has been pinned to his profile since the Supreme Court reversed Roe. “We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care.”
The recent out-of-state venture for the California politician isn’t the first time that he’s broadened his reach outside of the West Coast. This past summer, the governor released a reelection television ad, but had it run in Florida instead of his home state.
In the 30-second ad, which ran on channels like Fox News, the Democratic governor spars with Florida’s Gov Ron DeSantis and his policies, while drawing a contrast with California.
“Freedom, it’s under attack in your state. Republican leaders, they’re banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalising women and doctors,” Mr Newsom says while rolling images of Mr DeSantis and former President Donald Trump flash on screen.
“I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight. Or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom — freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate and the freedom to love,” he closes in the ad.
Mr Newsom has not said whether he will run for president in 2024, though many speculate that his recent attempts to nationalise his platform give a considerable hint that his intentions could be making a run for the White House on the Democratic ballot.
