The billboard, which is up just south of Stassney Lane in South Austin, features a woman sitting with her arms crossed over her knees, looking at the words "Need an abortion? California is ready to help."

AUSTIN, Texas - Drivers along South Congress may notice a new pro-abortion billboard up, courtesy of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The billboard, which is up just south of Stassney Lane in South Austin, features a woman sitting with her arms crossed over her knees, looking at the words "Need an abortion? California is ready to help." 

The billboard also features California's abortion resources website as well as a Bible quote saying "Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commitment than these."

The billboard states it is paid for by Gov. Newsom's re-election campaign, marking at least the second time the Democratic governor has paid for advertising in Texas concerning abortion. In July, Newsom targeted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott with full-page ads placed in three Texas newspapers, including the Austin-American Statesman.

The ads, which also ran in the Houston Chronicle and the El Paso Times, feature a modified quote from Abbott about Senate Bill 8, which bans abortion in Texas after six weeks. The quote is modified to criticize Abbott's response to gun violence in Texas following the mass shooting in Uvalde that killed 19 students and two teachers in May.

Newsom also slammed Abbott on social media regarding abortion after Abbott posted on Twitter in Austin ripping California's plan to require all new cars, trucks, and SUVs to run on electricity or hydrogen by 2035. 

Performing an abortion is now a felony after the state’s trigger law, which has only narrow exceptions to save the life of a pregnant patient, went into effect in August. The law was "triggered" when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its judgment in Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to set their own laws about abortion.

The trigger law criminalizes performing an abortion from the moment of fertilization unless the pregnant patient is facing "a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy." The statute specifically prohibits prosecuting a pregnant patient who undergoes an abortion.

Violations of the law are punishable by up to life in prison. The statute also says that the Attorney General "shall" seek a civil penalty of not less than $100,000, plus attorney’s fees.

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