US west coast states launch joint commitment to protect abortion rights

Los Angeles: The three states of California, Oregon and Washington in the US West Coast announced that they will continue protecting abortion access despite the Supreme Court overturning its 50-year-old landmark Roe v. Wade decision which granted women a constitutional right to abortion.

The Governors of these states issued a Multi-State Commitment on Friday to defend access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, and committed to protecting patients and doctors against efforts by other states to export their abortion bans to the West Coast states, reports Xinhua news agency.

"This Multi-State Commitment affirms the governors' commitment in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's unprecedented decision to strip away a constitutional right that has been in place for half a century, leaving abortion regulation to the states," Office of the Governor of California said in a statement.

"The sweeping decision means that for patients in more than half the country, home to 33.6 million women, abortion care is illegal or inaccessible."

The three Governors also released video messages, condemning the latest ruling and sharing the view that the West Coast would remain a place where reproductive health care will be accessible and protected.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the ruling was an devastating step toward erasing the rights and liberties that Americans had fought for a long time.

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