California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced on Sunday that legislators in the state will present a new bill this week to help women from Arizona who are seeking abortion services, in response to the enactment of one of the most strict abortion laws in the nation.
Earlier this month, a decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court enforced a law from 1864 that limits access to abortion in nearly all situations starting from May 1. Despite calls from national Republicans to change the law with a less strict one, state lawmakers have rejected attempts to overturn it.
Newsom expressed his dismay over the Arizona law in an interview with Jen Psaki on Sunday, saying, “It sickens you.”
He added, “We now have a ban that dates 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. Now they want to recreate the 19th century.”
The “emergency legislation” would permit Arizona abortion providers to swiftly gain approval to practice in California, thus allowing them to continue their work from the neighboring state.
Newsom did not provide further details on when the bill would be introduced or how he planned to guide it through the Legislature before its summer recess.
The governor, who is also a representative for President Biden’s reelection, mentioned that the attention on Arizona is due to abortion rights becoming a focus of campaigning for the November election.
The effort is expected to “focus on Arizona electorally, to focus on Nevada electorally, states that will play potentially an outsized role in this election,” he said.
Ballot measures relating to abortion will appear on the ballot in Arizona in November, and numerous other states — including the important swing state of Nevada — have pursued similar ballot measures. These endeavors have assisted Democrats in recent elections, including gubernatorial victories in deep-red Kansas and Kentucky.
