California Governor Gavin Newsom says he is not running for president. Despite persistent rumors swirling that he was gearing up to challenge Joe Biden in the primary, he told the Associated Press that there’s no chance he would run in 2024. “Not on God’s green earth, as the phrase goes,” he said. “I have been pretty consistently — including recently on Fox News — making the case for his candidacy.”
Yet that doesn’t mean Newsom isn’t influential — or that he couldn’t be president one day in the future. Especially on the topic of abortion, California leads the country on policy and influence — and that’s a worrying thought.
Newsom’s beginnings
Originally serving as the mayor of San Francisco, Newsom was elected governor in 2018. Soon after taking office in 2019, he made it clear that his goal was to promote abortion in California. Within just months, he issued a proclamation boasting about how easy it is to undergo an abortion in California, and encouraged women in pro-life states to travel there. He said:
California will continue to uphold women’s equality and liberty by protecting their reproductive freedom, educating Californians about their rights to reproductive freedom, welcoming women to California to fully exercise their reproductive rights, and acting as a model for other states that want to ensure full reproductive freedom for women.
Before his first year in office was up, he had signed a bill requiring all 11 University of California campuses and 23 California State University campuses to commit chemical abortions at on-campus health centers, despite concerns raised by both universities.
He also vetoed a bill involving sex education for middle- and high-schoolers, because it didn’t promote abortion enough.
Pushing abortion on children
Newsom approved of bills that made it easier for children to get abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent. One bill ensured that a minor could get an abortion, using their parents’ insurance plan, without needing approval from the insurance policy holder or subscriber — their parents — first. It also prevents information about the abortion from being shared.
Additionally, Newsom introduced a plan to pay for medical students to become abortionists; their student loans will be paid off, or they will receive scholarship money if they promise to commit abortions. Would-be nurses were also set up to have their nursing applications expedited if they chose to assist with or commit abortions.
Newsom also oversaw a new abortion website, which specifically targeted minors with a section telling out-of-state minors how to get an abortion in California without their parents’ permission, and additionally, telling undocumented immigrants how they can get taxpayer-funded abortions.
Abortion sanctuary
In 2021, Newsom announced that he wanted to turn California into an “abortion sanctuary.” He started a group called the California Future of Abortion Council, which announces plans to prop up the abortion industry within the state.
Plans include public funding for abortion-vulnerable women to pay for their gas, lodging, transportation, and child care, which ultimately would influence their decision to abort when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, reimbursing abortionists for committing abortions on low-income women, and more. As it is, California already has the highest number of abortionists in the country. He also moved to eliminate copays and out-of-pocket costs associated with abortion. Newsom also bowed to pressure from the abortion industry to use the state’s abortion fund to pay for out-of-state abortions.
He had billboards erected in seven pro-life states promoting abortion in California, even twisting the meaning of Bible verses used as part of their promotion. Newsom also ignored the rising violence and attacks against pro-life offices and pregnancy centers, and budgeted $20 million towards increased security for abortion facilities during the same time frame… while starting a “reproductive task force” dedicated to prosecuting pro-lifers for supposed “intimidation” or “harassment.”
“We’ll be a sanctuary,” Newsom said in 2021. “We are looking at ways to support that inevitability [of women traveling to California for abortions] and looking at ways to expand our protections.”
Protecting infanticide
One notorious bill passed in the state essentially allowed infanticide. The bill, which protects parents from prosecution if their baby is stillborn, stated:
Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty, or otherwise deprived of their rights under this article, based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death due to a pregnancy-related cause. (emphasis added)
By failing to define what is meant by “perinatal death” or “pregnancy-related cause,” abortion survivors, preterm babies, or babies with health complications could be left to die. The perinatal period is defined differently by different medical groups; it can be extended for as long as 24 months after the child’s birth, but is most often considered to be up to 28 days following the child’s birth.
Newsom signed this bill into law in September of 2022.
Walgreens boycott
Earlier this year, Walgreens announced it would abide by abortion laws regarding the distribution of abortion pills, including laws that protect preborn children from chemical abortions. Newsom reacted with rage, and said California would no longer do business with Walgreens. “We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right-wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls,” his office said in a statement.
Newsom ordered the state not to renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens.
Unfortunately, Newsom’s threats were ultimately empty; he was forced to walk back his boycott. Federal law required California to continue doing business with Walgreens; Medicaid recipients are required to be able to receive their prescriptions at any approved pharmacy, which includes Walgreens. In 2022, California paid Walgreens $1.5 billion dollars. Ultimately, Newsom had to invite Walgreens to reapply for the contract.
Newsom may not be running for president at this time, but the state of California’s extreme abortion policies have been copied in other states, like New York. If California’s deadly policies continue to virally spread across the country, more vulnerable human beings are in imminent danger of losing their lives.
