When Notre Dame des Victoires Catholic school celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, a famous former student taped a video presentation in honor of that moment. This was California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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In a press release about its anniversary, the school said: “Located in the heart of downtown San Francisco, NDV remains dedicated to its mission of providing an academically rigorous Catholic education while fostering a deep appreciation of French language and culture, and also inspiring service to the local community.”

In his video, Newsom recalled the uniform he wore at this school, the haircut he had, and the prayer they said to start the school day.

“I’m honored to have my voice—the voice of so many others—in wishing all of you a very happy hundred years,” Newsom said. “Of course, it does feel maybe like a hundred years ago that my mom would dress me up in that little sailor outfit, had a perfect—I’m talking about perfect—bowl cut, like perfectly straight bowl-cut hair.”

“I would go out in the Marina District by myself, my little yellow briefcase, I would get on the 30 Stockton, I would go down Dupont Street—we thought it was Grant Street back then—but Dupont Street, as some of us called it Dupont Street, and make my way up into the classroom where (his teacher) was looking sternly to make sure that I arrived on time,” he said.

“On time to do what?” said Newsom. “Yes, to do the national anthem, the Lord’s Prayer, and then jump right into conjugating verbs.”

“And a hundred years ago, NDV was a new idea,” Newsom said, “serving students from all backgrounds, all walks of life … and whetting their appetites to learn more about the world we’re living in, the world we’re trying to build.”

So, what world is Newsom trying to build now?

In February 2023, Newsom joined with the governors of 20 other states in forming what they call the “Reproductive Freedom Alliance.” Yet this alliance was not about advancing human reproduction. It was about human destruction—and countering states that were moving to restrict abortion following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

“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,” this governors’ alliance said in a statement issued at its founding. “This fight isn’t over.”

“This Alliance,” Newsom said in the statement, “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.”

So, Newsom believes that “a moral obligation to what is right” requires governors to support taking the lives of innocent unborn children through abortion.

The day that the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, Newsom argued that his state needed to advance abortion not just within its own borders but beyond them. “With today’s Supreme Court decision to endanger the health and safety of millions of women across the country, California must do everything it can to protect the fundamental rights of all women—in California and beyond,” he said.

That day, he signed Assembly Bill 1666 “which seeks to protect those in California from civil liability for providing, aiding, or receiving abortion care in the state.”

Last month, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 260. “The bill would authorize a pharmacist to dispense mifepristone or other drug used for medication abortion without the name of the patient, the name of the prescriber, or the name and address of the pharmacy, subject to specified requirements,” says its summary. “The bill would require the pharmacist to maintain a log, as specified, that is not open to inspection by law enforcement without a subpoena, and would prohibit the disclosure of the information to an individual or entity from another state.”

This law states that “an individual or state or local officer shall not commence a criminal, civil, professional discipline, or licensing action against an individual licensed or certified by a healing arts board concerning the manufacture, transport, distribution, delivery, receipt, acquisition, sale, possession, furnishment, dispensation, repackaging, or storage of brand name or generic mifepristone or any drug used for medication abortion that is lawful under the laws of the state.”

After Newsom signed this bill, Newsweek explained its impact beyond California. “A new California law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, will allow doctors to prescribe abortion care medication to patients anonymously,” it said. “The legislation is expected to have broad national impact because a majority of medication abortion services across the country use pharmacies based in California to dispense and ship the medication.”

The press release Newsom put out to promote this law listed other actions California had taken under his administration to protect “reproductive freedoms”—Newsom’s euphemism for actions that can kill an unborn child.

These included, most tellingly, “Newsom and the Legislature’s Proposition 1, an amendment to the state constitution to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom—including abortion care,” which was approved by a popular vote in November 2022.

These actions advanced by Newsom have not been a victory for human rights, but a gruesome attack on an inalienable right—the right to life.

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This article was originally published at The Daily Signal. Photo Credit: Governor Newsom Press Office.