California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) took to Twitter a couple of weeks ago to warn abortion rights advocates in the state the current very liberal access to abortion in California is “on the line” on the recall election ballot.
Newsom named five top left-wing, hot-button issues, including “abortion access,” in an attempt to convince California voters to “Vote NO on the Republican led recall by September 14.”
“There’s too much at stake to sit this out,” he warned.
“There’s no question that if a Republican is elected, access to abortion in California will be restricted,” Jodi Hicks, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said during a recent press conference, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
In early August, Crystal Harding, Planned Parenthood Patient/Advocate described the abortion business’s prominent role in the state:
California is light years ahead, we are trailblazers when it comes to reproductive health care and patient rights. We cannot go backwards, and with Newsom as a Champion for reproductive rights, we will continue to progress further offering equitable health for all!
“I appeal to you — my family, friends, neighbors and fellow Californians, having an innovative, progressive leader like Newsom, will keep us and our state moving forward!” she urged. “Your vote equals your voice and values.”
As Breitbart News reported Thursday, Newsom is “on defense,” even warning that, if he is kicked out of office, California could become like Florida, led by popular Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In June, DeSantis had some strong words about pro-abortion governors like Newsom.
In an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, DeSantis responded to a question about how American voters can distinguish between a superficial politician who simply wants their votes to get ahead, and one who is willing to fully engage in the important cultural battles.
One of the keys to determining that character difference lies in if the politician is truly supportive of the right to life, the governor said.
“I think, here’s what I tell people, in terms of right to life,” he explained. “It’s important, obviously on its own, but the people that, that aren’t supportive of the life cause, they’re not people you want to be in a foxhole with on any other political battle as well.”
“They’re the first ones that will sell out to the D.C. establishment, when the going gets really, really tough,” DeSantis asserted.
In California, Republican strategist Rob Stutzman told the L.A. Times, the warnings about loss of abortion rights by Newsom and other Democrats are merely attempts to turn out their voters.
“There’s no indication from polling in this election that [abortion] is at all what Californians think this election is about,” he said. “This fits into the type of campaign that they’re running, which isn’t persuasion; it’s motivation to turn out.”
The Times observed that, while a Republican governor could veto pro-abortion legislation and set budget priorities, the overwhelmingly Democrat-led California legislature has already achieved enshrining a right to abortion in the state’s Constitution.
“I don’t think abortion is going to be severely restricted in California,” said Laurie Sobel, associate director of women’s health policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation. “It’s more subtle than just slashing laws that are on the books — it’s not being supportive” of new legislation.
Last week, Newsom appeared with Planned Parenthood officials to tout the state’s position as the iconic abortion rights state, Politico reported.
“This is all hands on deck,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), a co-leader of “Women Against the Recall” and of Congress’s Pro-Choice Caucus. “California is a progressive state, but only if people turn out.”
However, with former California Attorney Generals Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra widely known for their cozy relationship with Planned Parenthood, even with serious allegations afoot of harvesting the body parts of aborted babies for trafficking to biomedical companies, the state’s abortion-on-demand bragging rights may not be in jeopardy, even with a potential Republican win in the recall election.
Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute of Reproductive Health, told Politico, nevertheless, that abortion rights and abortion on demand “is a real mobilizer.”
Miller and other abortion rights activists are using what they claim is a winning strategy, even in states like Virginia, where Republican Glenn Youngkin is running in a statistical tie against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in the gubernatorial election.
“We’re anticipating that Youngkin’s opposition to abortion will be a millstone around his neck,” she said.
According to a report at the Hill this week, however, an unnamed spokeswoman for the Youngkin campaign said McAuliffe is “proud to be endorsed by radical groups that support taxpayer-funded abortions up until the moment of birth.”
“The majority of Virginians do not support McAuliffe’s extreme pro-abortion agenda,” she added. “Glenn Youngkin supports funding for women’s health centers, believes that fewer abortions is a good thing, and supports exceptions for rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.