California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new ad campaign targeting abortion restrictions in conservative states.
The ads will air in states like Tennessee that are proposing bans on transporting minors across state lines for abortions.
One ad depicts a distressed young woman in handcuffs pleading for help, warning that “Trump Republicans” want to criminalize travel for reproductive care.
Newsom argues these states are holding women “hostage” and determining their life outcomes.
He has expanded his national profile through such campaigns promoting abortion access and gun control.
“These guys are not just restricting the rights, self-determination to bear a child for a young woman,” Newsom said. “But they’re also determining their fate as it relates to their future in life by saying they can’t even travel.”
“That’s how serious this moment is,” Newsom added. “And we need to be even more aggressive, I would argue. And that’s what this ad represents.”
“It’s not just a war on reproductive healthcare,” Newsom said. “It’s also a war on women more broadly defined, including, as we know, contraceptives.”
“We’ve defined the lines of this debate,” Newsom said. “We’ve been on the offense, not on the defense. The Republican Party is on the defense on this issue.”
While initially critical of Democrats, Newsom now credits Biden and Harris with leading the fight against the post-Roe rollback of abortion rights.
However, California has also struggled to expand access within its own borders despite its liberal policies.