Democratic governors form alliance on abortion rights

By BILL BARROW and GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press

Democratic governors in 20 states are launching a network intended to strengthen abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court nixing a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The ruling shifted regulatory powers over the procedure to state governments. Organizers, led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, described the Reproductive Freedom Alliance as a way for governors and their staffs to share best practices and affirm abortion rights for the approximately 170 million Americans who live in the consortium’s footprint. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in an interview that the court’s Dobbs decision that ended a national right to abortion put pressure on governors to act.