With the release of a new ad campaign, California Governor Gavin Newsom is going after states that are thinking about banning abortion while traveling.
The Newsom Campaign for Democracy ad will start running in Alabama on Monday. The ad was shared by the governor on Twitter early Sunday morning.
The text next to the video post says, “Alabama’s abortion law does not allow for rape or incest.” Now, Republicans want to make it illegal for young women to travel to get an abortion. They can’t get away with this.
In the 30-second ad, two young women who look worried are driving past a sign that says “State Line 1 Mile.”
“Almost there. “You’re going to make it,” the passenger tells the woman driving right before they hear sirens and are stopped by a state trooper.
The voiceover says, “Trump Republicans want to make it illegal for young Alabama women to travel for reproductive care.” The state trooper then walks up to the car.
The policeman waves a test stick in front of Miss and says, “Miss, I need you to get out of the car and take a pregnancy test.” The next picture shows the driver putting her hands on the hood of her car while a policeman holds her down.
“Stop them by taking action at RightToTravel.org,” the speaker says at the end of the ad.
A bill is being thought about in Alabama that would make it illegal to help women get abortions outside of Alabama. A bigger campaign is behind the ad to fight travel bans all over the US. An ad like this one ran in Tennessee and was made by Newsom.
According to the website RightToTravel.org, those two states and Oklahoma are thinking about passing laws that would make it illegal for children to go out of state to get an abortion without their parents’ permission, even if there is abuse in the family or incest.
This isn’t the first time the governor has changed his mind about abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Two days after the decision, Newsom and the governors of Oregon and Washington signed a multi-state statement promising to protect access to reproductive health care, such as birth control and abortion.
In September of that year, he put up billboards in seven of the strictest anti-abortion states telling women who wanted to have an abortion to come to California for care. He also signed more than a dozen new laws against abortion that protect women’s reproductive rights. Finally, he told the state to end its contract with Walgreens because the big drugstore chain said it would not mail abortion pills to some states run by conservatives.
