On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom began an ad campaign against plans in several Republican-controlled states that would forbid women from traveling outside of their state for abortions and other reproductive healthcare procedures.
A TV advertisement on a proposal being considered in Tennessee will be the first of two phases of the multistate ad campaign, which will also include an online petition drive. Republicans in the state legislature are sponsoring a law dubbed “abortion trafficking,” which would make it illegal for an adult to enlist, house, or transport a child for an abortion without the minor’s agreement.
Proponents of the Tennessee bill claim that it might make it illegal to drive a minor to have an abortion, as well as to provide information about local abortion providers or which states have more lenient abortion regulations.
California Abortion Battlefront Shifts to the Red States?
The plan is being co-sponsored by Republican state representative Jason Zachary, who described it as “simply a parental rights bill.”
There is currently legislation in Idaho that addresses “abortion trafficking.”
The groundbreaking law made it unlawful to assist a youngster seeking an abortion outside of the state or to purchase abortion drugs on their behalf without the knowledge or approval of their parents.
Widely seen as a potential presidential contender, Newsom is a Democrat. He claimed that his RightToTravel.org initiative would be funded by a national political action committee that he established last spring using $10 million from his state campaign money. According to him, the “Campaign for Democracy” is an attempt to support the hardline Republican agenda and Democrats like Joe Biden.
Abortion rights have been identified by Democrats and left-leaning interest organizations as a key driver of voter turnout in the 2018 presidential election and battle for control of Congress. They think that when the argument expands to include growing concerns about in vitro fertilization treatments, drug availability, miscarriage care, and emergency care, supporting access to abortion might be a winning issue. The Alabama Supreme Court’s decision this week put future access to IVF in jeopardy.