:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/BMQETMMHQBC2NLHYZCGRXKQIYQ.jpg "The governor of California, against travel bans within the country for abortions")
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday announced an ad campaign aimed at combating proposals in several Republican-governed states to ban travel to other U.S. states to obtain abortions and receive additional reproductive health care.
The multi-state ad campaign and an online petition effort will begin Monday, starting with a television commercial about a measure being considered in Tennessee. The so-called “abortion trafficking” bill, promoted by Republican state legislators, would make it a felony for an adult to recruit, harbor or transport a minor to have an abortion performed without the consent of her parents. .
Speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Newsom said similar restrictions inspired by a law already passed in Idaho are also being proposed in Oklahoma and Mississippi.
“The conditions are much more pernicious than they even appear,” Newsom said. “These gentlemen are not only restricting the rights, the personal determination of a young woman to decide whether she has a child or not, but they are also determining her destiny in regards to her future in life by saying that neither “They can’t even travel.”
Supporters of the Tennessee measure said it could make it a crime not only to take a minor for an abortion, but also to provide information about nearby abortion services or to report which states have less strict laws on terminating pregnancies.
Republican state Rep. Jason Zachary, who is co-sponsoring the proposal, has said it is “simply a parental rights bill.”
Since the United States Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade in 2022, anti-abortion activists have pressured states to ban abortions and find ways to prevent pregnant women and teens from crossing into other states to obtain one.