“Today is an incredibly bleak day in our nation’s history. The Supreme Court of the United States has decided to take away rights from millions of people, undoing longstanding legal precedent despite a solid majority of Americans supporting abortion rights. In states across the country, reproductive freedom is no more. Patients needing abortion care in these states will no longer be able to access that care legally, denying them the right to make decisions about their own health.
“But not so here in Washington. At this moment of darkness and despair, our state shines as a beacon of light and hope. The people of this state enshrined abortion rights into state law when they passed Initiative 120, and have continued to uphold that right with their votes every time it is on the line. Washingtonians have made clear over and over that this is a solidly pro-choice state that respects abortion rights for all. The Legislature has listened to the will of the people by protecting and expanding reproductive freedom since passage of Initiative 120, including during the 2022 legislative session when we passed HB 1851. That bill ensures that every health care provider in every corner of this state who is trained to provide abortion care can in fact provide that care, because without access true reproductive freedom does not exist for everyone, regardless of laws on the books.
“With today’s rollback of rights at the federal level, our state’s abortion laws are more important than ever. People who need abortion care are now going to come to Washington to access this care, whether it’s from Idaho or from any one of the other states that are using this Court’s decision as a means to take away rights. The loss of these rights will be most profoundly felt in communities that have already struggled to access abortion care, such as Black, Brown and Indigenous communities, as well as rural and underserved areas. It is up to the Legislature to not only stand strong against any attempts to chip away at reproductive freedoms here, but to continue working to expand this access so that we always remain that beacon of light and hope for all who are now impacted by this terrible decision.”