Newsom calls Cox ‘extreme’ for opposing all abortions

Democrat Gavin Newsom called Republican rival John Cox one of the “most extreme” gubernatorial candidates in decades on the issue of abortion rights as Newsom accepted the endorsement of two pro-choice groups Thursday.

Pro-choice advocates are trying to make abortion rights an issue in the November election as the Senate prepares to consider President Trump’s nomination of appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Abortion rights groups fear Kavanaugh could create a five-justice bloc that would overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.

The advocates’ efforts extend to races that aren’t directly connected to the Kavanaugh issue, including the California governor’s contest. Women’s access to abortion is enshrined in state law, and any court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade and sending the issue back to the states would be unlikely to result in restrictions

in California.

Still, pro-choice advocates don’t want to take any chances. That’s why leaders of the state chapters of NARAL ProChoice America and Planned Parenthood endorsed Newsom on Thursday outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.

Cox opposes all abortions, including in cases of rape or incest, and has been endorsed by the California ProLife Council. Its chairman, Brian Johnston, said the San Diego businessman “understands and upholds the principles of the Republican Party platform and its commitment to protect vulnerable human beings.”

Cox, however, is not emphasizing the abortion issue in his campaign. He is focused on opposing sanctuary laws and the state’s gas-tax increase. Advocating abortion restrictions probably wouldn’t be a winner for him — a February 2017 survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 71 percent of respondents said government should not interfere with a woman’s access to abortion.

Newsom said Cox’s antiabortion position is “perhaps the most extreme on these issues in my lifetime.” Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor, said California needs a strong advocate on abortion rights.

Tim Rosales, Cox’s campaign manager, said Cox’s position on abortion “is wellknown, but the real question is, how nervous is a presumed front-runner when they go on the attack in July?”

“We are looking at the same polling tracks as Newsom, and we all know this race is a lot closer than some people think,” Rosales said.

Despite California’s abortion protections, Newsom said pro-choice voters have reason to worry. He pointed to last month’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down a California law requiring antiabortion pregnancy centers to notify patients where they can obtain abortions.

“We need someone that can use the bully pulpit and get out there and help shape this conversation,” Newsom said.

He promised to make sure state funding would be available should the federal government roll back women’s health coverage. Newsom said that on that score he would be stronger than Cox.

“Do you think,” Newsom said, “he’s going to appoint judges to the Superior Court, the Court of Appeals or to the California Supreme Court that have the rights and interests of our women and girls in mind?”