(LifeSiteNews) — Radical pro-abortion Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced on Tuesday that he is forming a coalition of likeminded governors to defend and expand access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
The coalition, called the Reproductive Health Alliance, would facilitate the expansion of abortion through the sharing of model statutory language and executive orders, in addition to sharing ways to protect abortion providers from prosecution and maximize federal funding for reproductive “care.” Members of the coalition would also discuss ways to protect manufacturers of the abortion pill as well as discuss strategies for federal lawsuits should the pill be pulled from the market.
While the governors’ staffs are expected to meet monthly, the governors themselves are expected to meet once or twice per year to discuss abortion access, the Washington Post reported.
The 20 member coalition currently includes the governors of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
Though Newsom described the coalition as bipartisan, all members are currently Democrats. Newsom’s aides, speaking to the Associated Press, however, said that they would welcome Republican members.
The coalition would receive funding from the California Wellness Foundation as well as the Rosenberg Foundation, both pro-abortion organizations.
A joint statement released by the governors stated, “As governors representing nearly 170 million people across every region of the country, we are standing with all people who believe in reproductive freedom and health care. We are standing with them to say, ‘enough.’”
“In the face of this unprecedented assault by states hostile to abortion rights and their enablers in the courts, we are pledging to work together to strengthen abortion firewalls across America,” the governors continued. “This fight isn’t over.”
Newsom also released a statement on the coalition in which he said, “This Alliance is a moral obligation to what is right and will stand as a firewall to fight for and protect providers, patients, and all who are affected by these attacks on fundamental rights.”
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that states could make their own laws on abortion, several pro-abortion states took measures to ensure abortion access.
Immediately after the Dobbs decision, California, Oregon, and Washington announced a “West Coast offense” initiative to protect abortionists and women seeking abortion from out-of-state prosecution.
The governors of New Mexico, North Carolina, and Colorado signed executive orders shortly thereafter also seeking to protect women seeking abortions from out-of-state prosecution, with additional measures holding that state agencies could not assist out-of-state entities in investigating abortions.
Several pro-abortion states also amended their state constitutions to enshrine abortion access during the November midterms, including California and Michigan.
Newsom’s coalition also follows a Texas lawsuit that seeks to overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.
