Amid the ongoing debate over abortion in America, one of the nation’s most liberal governors is turning to the Bible — and Jesus’ words, in particular — to defend pregnancy termination.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is on a mission to advertise his state’s abortion services, posting billboards in conservative states where the procedure is restricted, The Christian Post reported.
Newsom, who funded the billboards through his gubernatorial re-election campaign, unveiled the messages he plans to post in seven of what he called “the most restrictive anti-abortion states” — placards with proclamations telling women they can “access care no matter where they live.”
NEW: Just launched billboards in 7 of the most restrictive anti-abortion states that explain how women can access care–no matter where they live.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 15, 2022
To any woman seeking an abortion in these anti-freedom states: CA will defend your right to make decisions about your own health.
“To any woman seeking an abortion in these anti-freedom states: CA will defend your right to make decisions about your own health,” Newsom tweeted.
The governor then started tagging various Republican governors, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), to unveil the billboards going up in each conservative state.
@GregAbbott_TX this will be launching in your state today. pic.twitter.com/mpFdtlAO4o
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 15, 2022
The Texas billboard reads, “Texas doesn’t own your body. You do.”
Women are then sent to a website Newsom created to advertise abortion services. That site proclaims, “Abortion is legal and protected in California” and offers women from out-of-state help finding abortion services in California.
The site also lets kids under the age of 18 know they, too, can get assistance. A line on the site reads, “In California, people of any age have the right to independently consent to their own abortion care.”
Nearly identical billboards are going up in Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, and South Dakota. But the messages set for display in Mississippi and Oklahoma might leave people doing a double-take.
The large text on the billboards in those states reads, “Need an abortion? California is ready to help.” But the copy underneath borrows from Jesus’ words in Mark 12:31. It reads, “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.”
@GovStitt this will be going up in your state. pic.twitter.com/snPcTIZaPv
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 15, 2022
The irony of using this verse might not be lost on many Bible believers, as Jesus made this proclamation after one of the teachers of the law came to him to ask which commandment is the most important.
Jesus proceeded to proclaim (verse 29-30), “‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'”
This declaration calls believers to seek God and His standards first and foremost, putting the Lord above self. Newsom’s team chose not to include these essential sentiments — truths paramount to the entirety of Jesus’ message and at the core of the Christian faith itself.
The second most important commandment is loving one’s neighbor, though one might wonder how the governor’s efforts to promote abortion — the termination of an innocent life — would fall under such a category.
Considering the Bible’s very clear exploration of God’s will and the value of each and every life in His creation, the exclusion of the first commandment is beyond noteworthy — and disturbing.
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