California Governor Gavin Newsom is releasing digital ads specifically targeting states that are protecting preborn children from abortion.
On Sunday, he debuted the first in a series of ads, which has hit the airwaves in Tennessee. Titled “Hostage,” the ad portrays a teen rape victim who finds herself handcuffed to a hospital bed. According to Politico, Newsom is funding the ad campaign with his political action committee, Campaign for Democracy, which he launched using millions in donations leftover from his failed recall campaign in 2021.
“Trump Republicans want to criminalize young women who travel to receive the reproductive care they need,” the ad says. “Don’t let them hold Tennessee women hostage.”
The digital ad is a direct attack on Tennessee’s law, which protects preborn children who are conceived in rape, as well as a law being considered that would protect teens from abortion trafficking. California, meanwhile, is one of the most pro-abortion states in the country.
“The conditions are much more pernicious than they even appear,” Newsom claimed in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “These guys are not just restricting the rights of self-determination to bear a child for a young child, young woman, but they’re also determining their fate as it relates to their future in life by saying they can’t even travel.”
Tennessee Rep. Jason Zachary, who is sponsoring the state’s abortion trafficking bill, shot back at Newsom’s claims on X (formerly Twitter).
The Governor of CA continues to deceive and gaslight.
TN is standing on strong conservative principles. We are running an important parental rights bill. The bill prohibits an adult who is not the parent/guardian of a minor from facilitating an abortion for that minor without… https://t.co/pVhxT26fmz— Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) February 25, 2024
“The Governor of CA continues to deceive and gaslight,” Rep. Zachary wrote. “The bill prohibits an adult who is not the parent/guardian of a minor from facilitating an abortion for that minor without the parent’s consent. The bill doesn’t prohibit providing healthcare to any pregnant woman, period. There are zero criminal penalties against any pregnant minor young lady/woman.”
This is not the first time Newsom has attacked the pro-life policies of other states; he previously launched a billboard campaign in which he used a Bible verse to support abortion, erecting the boards in South Dakota, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas.
