‘An appalling attack’ on abortion rights. Gavin Newsom blasts draft Supreme Court opinion
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday night came out strongly against a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision that could end federal abortion rights, calling it “an appalling attack on the rights of women across this country.”
Newsom issued a statement in response to a draft of a Supreme Court opinion obtained by Politico that reveals the justices could strike down Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion for all pregnant people.
The court won’t officially issue its decision for a couple of months. But if the draft decision prevails, it would be up to states to determine whether abortion care is legal for its residents.
The court would issue the opinion in response to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a lawsuit challenging a Mississippi law outlawing abortions after 15 weeks with few exceptions. Justices heard case arguments in December.
“This is not an isolated incident, and it is not the end,” Newsom said in the statement. “We have a Supreme Court that does not value the rights of women, and a political minority that will stop at nothing to take those rights away.”
Newsom has been outspoken about his support for abortion rights. He told the Associated Press in December he wants California to be a “sanctuary” for pregnant people who might cross state lines to seek abortion care.
“We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections,” Newsom said.
In March, Newsom signed Senate Bill 245, which prohibits health insurance companies from charging co-pays, deductibles or cost-sharing requirements for abortions and abortion-related services.
On Monday, Newsom said he sees the draft decision as part of a movement to roll back protections for marginalized people and vowed California would stand against it.
“This won’t stop with choice and the right to privacy,” Newsom said. “They are undermining progress and erasing the civil protections and rights so many have fought for over the last half century.”
“I’m furious that my own daughters and sons could grow up in an America that is less free than the one they were born into,” he added. “We have to wake up. We have to fight like hell. We will not be silenced.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 8:28 PM with the headline "‘An appalling attack’ on abortion rights. Gavin Newsom blasts draft Supreme Court opinion."