California governor says state will welcome women seeking abortions

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday declared that the state will welcome women seeking abortions amid a push in conservative states to ban the procedure.

Newsom signed a proclamation touting the state’s commitment to upholding reproductive rights.

“California will continue to uphold women’s equality and liberty by protecting their reproductive freedom, educating Californians about their rights to reproductive freedom, welcoming women to California to fully exercise their reproductive rights, and acting as a model for other states that want to ensure full reproductive freedom for women,” the proclamation reads.

{mosads}The proclamation details the state’s laws and programs regarding women’s rights related to privacy and abortion access, and notes that the state has been recognized to have the “strongest protections of rights to reproductive freedom.”

Newsom also joined the Democratic governors of Oregon and Washington in writing a letter urging fellow governors to protect abortion rights in their states.

“In the absence of federal leadership on this issue, states must step up and put in place their own protections — both in statute and in their state constitutions, and through the expansion of family planning and education — to defend every American’s right to reproductive freedom,” the letter, signed by Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, reads.

Newsom’s proclamation comes as a number of state governments pass legislation to ban or restrict abortion rights.

On Thursday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards became the first Democratic governor to sign a so-called heartbeat abortion bill, which effectively bans the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. The move made Louisiana the sixth state to enact such a ban in recent months.

A federal judge last week issued a preliminary injunction blocking Mississippi’s new “heartbeat” law while legal challenges play out.

Proponents of the legislation hope that the push will eventually lead to the Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

So far, the high court has avoided any cases that would lead to a major ruling on abortion rights.