GOVERNORS ANNOUNCE ‘WEST COAST OFFENSE’
Calif., Ore., Wash., leaders to help those seeking abortions
The Democratic governors of California, Washington and Oregon on Friday vowed to protect reproductive rights and help women who travel to the West Coast seeking abortions following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The three states are building a “West Coast offense” to protect patients’ access to reproductive care, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a video statement announcing the plans along with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
The states issued a joint “multi-state commitment,” saying they will work together to defend patients and medical professionals providing reproductive health care.
They also pledged to “protect against judicial and local law enforcement cooperation with out-of-state investigations, inquiries and arrests” regarding abortions performed in their states.
The liberal West Coast states anticipate an influx of people seeking abortions, especially as neighboring conservative states move to outlaw or greatly restrict the procedure.
Newsom warned that conservative Supreme Court justices and Republican politicians “are coming after you” on issues beyond the abortion decision and another ruling this week that said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
“This is not just about women. This is not just about choice. It’s not just about reproductive freedom — they’re coming after you,” he said.
Newsom signed into law a bill intended to shield abortion providers and volunteers in California from legal decisions in other states that limit reproductive rights, part of a package of more than a dozen bills intended to make California a sanctuary for those seeking abortions.
He said the state’s budget will include $20 million over three years to help pay for women from other states to get abortions in California. The money will go to nonprofits that help women pay for expenses such as travel, lodging and child care.
In California, abortion was outlawed in 1850, except when the life of the mother was in danger. The law changed in 1967 to include abortions in the case of rape, incest or if a woman’s mental health were in danger.
In 1969, the California Supreme Court declared the state’s original abortion law to be unconstitutional but left the 1967 law in place. In 1972 — one year before the Roe v. Wade decision — voters added a “right to privacy” to the California Constitution. Since then, the state Supreme Court has interpreted that right to privacy as a right to access abortion.
Oregon has codified the right to an abortion. State law was updated in 2017 and allows for late-term abortions and requires private medical insurance and state Medicaid to cover the procedure.
A $15 million fund established by state lawmakers this year covers costs for abortion providers and patients without insurance coverage or traveling from out of state.
The fund also seeks to expand abortion access in Oregon’s rural communities.
Washington and Oregon border Idaho, which following Friday’s ruling will ban abortions except in cases of reported rape or incest, or to protect the mother’s life.
Abortion has been legal in Washington state since a 1970 statewide ballot referendum.